Her Champion
by HawkwoodX15
Summary: Erza "Scarlet" Belserion is the warrior princess and the strongest female in her kingdom. She is looking to make the world know who she is. However, when she has to pick a champion for the tournament, she is left with no choice but to pick the strongest of them all. But as she spends her time with her champion. Will she come out of her royal shell and embrace him? AU NXE.
1. Chapter 1

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: Here is the winner of the poll. (cheers) Okay, to be honest, I did not think that this one will get as many votes has it got. I was hoping for the first one to win, but I guess that will come later in the future.**

**Here are the results of the poll:**

**1\. Her Champion (Option 2) = 3 votes**

**2\. Dragon and the ice monster (option 3) = 2 votes**

**3\. A blade that keeps her heart warm (option 1) = 1 vote**

**I hope I counted good. Please don`t be mad at me if I didn`t, I`m writing this in 7 in the morning so cut me some slack.**

**Btw I forgot to mention this:**

**I don`t own anything from Fairy Tail.**

**Okay here is the first chapter. **

**Enjoy. **

Chapter 1.

Warrior Princess meets the Dragon

In the Kingdom of Fiore, there are many kingdoms, all of which are ruled by different kings. But there is one kingdom that is ruled by a woman, only one. Kingdom of Alvarez, which is ruled by Irene Beleserion. She is the first-ever queen of her kingdom and first every woman who rules in the kingdom of Fiore. She took the throne from her husband who died in the war against the opposite country. Tho many counselors and nobles tried to stop her, but she was so high in both the noble and royalty status, that no one could do anything to prevent her from becoming a queen.

She took it upon herself to turn her kingdom into a world first, female`s rule over man. She made sure that man understands, that they had no choice, right or voice. They eighter bowed down and submit to the woman/wife and let her be the one in charge of the house, or they could face the wrath of the queen and be thrown to the dungeon or have their head chopped off by a guillotine.

_**(I know it's still 2019 and ppl are still sensitive over the stuff like this... But please don`t take this for real, it's only the fanfiction for you to read. So no offense, please. Thank you.)**_

This lead to a huge conflict between man and woman, however, it was quickly solved by Irene who made sure. Man won`t get any funny ideas, nor will they try anything in the near future. Irene turned once a proud kingdom of Alvarez into an amazonian warriors stronghold. She used her political power to make sure, everything went her way and no one could tell her not to.

3 months after she becomes a queen. She gave birth to a little baby girl with scarlet hair like hers only more lighter and same brown eyes. Irene for the first time since she got married felt happy and when she holds her in her arms and looked into those chocolate brown eyes, she knew what name this child will bear.

"Erza..." she said smile spreading onto her young face

In time she spent all the time she could with her daughter, but duo to her being a queen. She was usually busy and did not have time to really spend with her daughter. So Erza grew up partly without a mother and entierly without a father. She was taught how to read and write by a castle librarian named Sol. She was thought how to act around nobles, how to eat properly and table manners from maids. And she was taught how to fight with a sword. In just 14 years of age, she won multiple tournaments and beat the strongest swordswoman in their kingdom.

Earning her that title. Now she is 17 years old and is looking to raise her image and fame even further with her skills. For the entire world will know who the warrior princess of Alvarez is.

Or so she taught before she met him...

**Erza`s chambers:**

The rays of light coming through the big windows on the left side of the room woke Erza from her slumber. She let out a yawn and stretched a little bit before getting down on her hands and start to do push-ups. It was a usual morning routine for her to start the day with 60 push-ups, 60 sit up and 60 squats, so her body could wake up fully.

When she was done, she heard a knocking coming from her door before "may I come in" was heard on the other side of it.

"You may," Erza said as she put a robe around herself.

Nobody knew but she sleeps in her black bra and matching underwear, something so un princess-like. She started doing that at the age of 16 and just stuck with it. It felt more comfortable sleeping in them.

The door opened up revealing a girl in a black and white maid`s outfit with red shoes. The girl's golden locks went down to her lower back as she looked to be shaking in fear and nervousness, a towel presented with both hands in front of her.

This was Lucy Heartfillia, she came to Alvarez 2 years ago and was getting robbed by bandits on the road. Erza saved her from them while she was on the way back home. She asked Lucy a bunch of questions and told her to get in. When Lucy heard she was the legendary warrior princess Erza Beleserion, she immediately apologized for showing her how weak she is. Erza told her its okay, she does not look like a fighter anyway, ho she did not expect to be offered a job as a maid and be given a room in the castle. Lucy accepted in an instant.

However, things were rough for Lucy ever since then. She would be ordered around by Erza, yelled at by older maids who were here long before her, not to mention she was constantly moving up and down the castle just to clean up all the rooms and halls that were there. It did not help her when Erza would call for her in the middle of her cleaning, for Erza`s room was on the third floor of the castle, so Lucy had to sometimes go all the way from the bottom to the third floor.

It is not fun to do that...

Lucy looked around Erza`s room, still shaking in fear of the great princess.

Why did she fear Erza you ask? You don`t wanna know. Trust me.

Erza`s room has one queen-size bed, two nightstands on each side of it, a medium-sized round table in the middle of the room with 4 chairs, a closet full of her formal clothes for when she has to go to a party or a Nobel meetings. 6 Armor stands on the left end of the room, all had different armors on it.

"Your... Bath is ready, my lady" She said presenting the towel to Erza.

"Thank you, Lucy," Erza said taking the towel from Lucy and walking towards the bathhouse. Lucy as she watched Erza walk away leat out a breath in relief.

**30 minutes later:**

Erza was walking towards the dining room, where she was sure her mother was. The relationship between the two right now was... pretty strained. Erza did not love her mother as much as she has before. Irene never really paid much attention to her, even when she was not doing her queen duties. She was often on the parties or spending time with other nobles. Not really paying attention to her daughter.

Erza hated her for that, but at the same time, she couldn`t really hate her mother. She is her only family after all.

Erza was wearing one of her adamantine armor (just without the helmet, shields). She opened the door of the dining room and spot her mother sitting at the crown of the table. Irene was talking to one of the servants while holding a spoon with her right hand, that she was using to eat from her plate of chicken soup. When her eyes caught sight of Erza, she dismissed the servant away and returned her attention to the soup. Not all that bothered by the look of distaste that Erza was giving her.

Irene was wearing a scarlet royal dress with fire like pattering down at the bottom of the dress, golden high heels and red royal robe. The crown ever-present on her head.

"Good Morning," She said after eating two spoonfuls of soup

"Good Morning" Erza replied as she set down at the opposite side of the table, across her mother.

Erza was served her plate of soup and begin to eat. A long silence fell upon the two royalties as the atmosphere in the room was so tense you could cut it whit a knife. After awhile Irene wiped her lips with a napkin before setting her eyes on Erza again.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes"

"Your training going well?"

"Yes"

"Your apprentice doing well?"

"Yes"

This is how their talk usually went. Short questions and short answers, just how they both like it. Irene stood up from the table and walked over to the door. She turned so her body was facing Erza before telling her where she was heading.

"I am heading to my room, there is something I have to do there. Can you come to the throne room at noon, there are things we must discuss." Before Erza could say anything, her mother left the room.

Erza let out a sigh as she continued to eat her soup. She wanted to talk to her mother about their relationship, she wanted to ask her about her father and even more things she did not know. But how could she when her mother always leaves before she could talk to her.

Maybe she could talk to her about all that at noon when she comes to the throne room. As she was finishing the door opened and through them stepped in a woman with purple hair, black-brown eyes and wearing a full silver body armor (minus the helmet).

This is her apprentice Kagura Mikazuchi. Erza saved her when a group of bandits lead a raid on her village. Although she couldn`t have saved her brother Simon. Erza promised Kagura that she will train her so that one day she could take revenge for her brother. And Kagura was by her side ever since.

Kagura was a fast learner and quickly climbed up the rankings in the kingdoms guard, eventually, she became known as the second strongest woman in the kingdom. She was also recognized by a queen herself and now she is a general of Erza`s most elite team of warriors.

Knight`s of the red plains.

"My lady," Kagura said while bowing her head

"Rise your head Kagura... There is no need for you to be so formal with me when we are alone" at Erza`s words Kagura lifted her head up and nodded with a little bit of worry.

"My apologies my lady. But I insisted that I keep calling you that" Erza nodded at her, easing her worries.

"I suppose that the patrol went well?" Erza asked while taking another spoonful into her mouth

Kagura looked to the floor and then to the side in a clear show of nervousness in her body language. Erza saw this and raised her eyebrow while giving Kagura a "well" look, making the poor girl more nervus.

"W-w-well... It was all going good... until" she paused in her answer, not really wanting to continue.

"Until?" Erza said getting annoyed by Kagura`s fear, she thought she trained her not to show or feel fear for anyone.

"Until we did not stumble upon a group of man" She answered finally. This information did not surprise Erza, a man in their kingdom were treated as the minority and were pretty much slaves in their own home or marriage. So they would often try to escape from the country to try and start a better life.

However, if they try to do that they will be sentenced to death for treason.

Erza never paid much attention to these "beast". She thought all men were the same and they wanted the same thing. Money, alcohol, woman and fame, it disgusted her. Every man that has ever tried to get to her, had his balls cut off and set has an example for the others.

She really really hated men.

Erza closed her eyes and in an uninterested tone of voice said"So what?... What is so special about that. Man often try to leave our grounds and are punished with death if they do." She explained bringing the spoon up for another bite.

Kagura fidgeted with her fingers nervously while looking at the ground. Before looking up at Erza again and in a quiet voice she said.

"But this group was successful"

"_Cleng"_

"_Cough"_

"_Cough"_

"_COUGH"_

Kagura jumped when she heard the spoon fall out of Erza`s hand and onto the oak table. Her coughs made Kagura sweat bullets as Erza hit herself on the chest plate in order the get the food down, which in her surprise went down the wrong pipe.

After Erza`s cough calmed down, her eyes burned with fury as they fell on kagura again. She saw the girl stand on shaking legs, her face sweating bullets, her eyes showing absolute fear towards her mentor and princess.

Erza slowly stood up and in a very menacing pace walked over to stand in front of Kagura. When she was towering over Kagura, she stoped a look of raging fury still in her eyes.

"Kagura..." Her voice was as cold as ice

"Y-y-y-yes my lady..."

"How many people did you take this morning with you?"

"10 me included"

"From who`s brigade?" Erza asked her eyes never leaving Kagura`s

"Your`s my lady" After that Erza inhaled deeply before starting to breathe in and out through her nose. Her... Her brigade. She let out a breath before saying.

"My brigade?"

"Yes my lady"

"Kagura are you telling me..." She said as she put her gauntlet on Kagura`s armored shoulder, she started to squeeze on it, banding the metal and closing it around her shoulder, making Kagura sweat even more. "Are you telling me that a group of... how many?"

"6"

"6... A group of 6 men... managed to escape... the 10 od my best warriors... 10 of the most well-skilled, most well trained... Warriors WHO CAN SNAP A MAN`S NECK WITH A SINGLE SLAP" Erza yelled at Kagura, as her other hand wrapped around Kagura`s neck before lifting her off the ground and slamming her into the ground. "IS THAT WHAT YOU`RE TELLING ME KAGURA!"

Kagura was looking up at Erza while trying to stop Erza`s hand from choking her. She was breathing quickly in fear and panic. Her vision became blurry as Erza`s hand tighten around her neck. She knew she was running out of time so she moved her lips trying to get her words out before its too late.

"We... got... one..." She managed to whizz out as her eyes begin to roll into the back of her head. Erza released her hold on her neck, making Kagura cough as she tried to get some air back in her lungs.

Erza set back down at the table, crossed one leg over the other and put her fingertips together. Waiting for Kagura to explain herself. Kagura weakly got to her feet, head bowed low not wanting to look at Erza without permission.

"We managed to catch one," She said this time more clearly.

"ONE. JUST ONE, THAT IS SHAMEFUL. WE ARE THE STRONGEST BRIGADE IN THIS WHOLE KINGDOM AND YOU DARE TO SAY TO ME THAT YOU CAUGHT ONE OUT OF 6!. I SHOULD HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM BEING A GENERAL."

Erza`s words hurt Kagura deeply, but that was how she always was toward her. Erza wanted only the best by her side, she will not settle with weakness. Kagura shakingly lifted her head up and looked into Erza`s brown eyes, making sure she had her full attention.

"This one is different..." At those words, Erza raised her eyebrow and stood up again. Walking again over to Kagura.

"Really... How is he different?" She asked with a smirk

"Because he alone took down 5 of our strongest warriors" Kagura answered, her eyes showing absolute honesty and iron will.

Erza`s eyes widen at the answer. 5? He took on 10 of her brigade's warriors and he beat 5 of them. She shook her head and was about to call Kagura a lier, but the look she was giving her left no option to argue.

She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose before exhaling out of her mouth. Calming herself down

"How severe are the injuries?" She asked

"All have broken arms, both legs, a dislocated shoulders, and minor concussions" Kagura answered. Erza run both hands through her hair, she could not let her frustration over this and the frustration over her mother get to her. She needed to be calm and collective, make sure that the one who did this to her strongest warriors pay.

"What about you?" She asked Kagura

"Just a few bruises and a broken rib... But I will be okay" Kagura asked while rubbing her side

"I am sorry... I did not know" Erza said

"It's okay..."

...

"So we're is the ones who did it," Erza asked with interest, wanting to see the man who beat her warriors.

"He is being put into the dungeon as we speak," Kagura said putting her hands behind her back. Erza nodded before walking towards the door and pass Kagura.

"I am going down there myself... I am want to see the face of the man, who beat 5 of my strongest warriors" She said as the doors shut behind her.

Kagura sighed as she sat at the table, she felt a pain in her side as she sucked in the air through her teeth. She let out quick breaths as she looked at the door, that Erza walked through.

"_I know how strong you are my lady... But this man... He could as well be your match_" Kagura just set there, waiting for the pain to go away.

**Down in the dungeon:**

Erza made her way through the long hall of the dungeon, this is where they keep all the prisoners who are experienced in battle. For they force them to fight to the death in the arena. There were more females than male prisoners in here, mostly because most of the females here tried to assassinate or challenged her or her mother. They all failed.

A few male prisoners immediately backed away from the bars that kept them from leaving their cells. They were scared of the princess more so then queen, they heard about what she did to the one guy who tried to hit on her. And they don`t want to experience that.

She arrived at the end of the hall when she saw the door at the end of it, she was surprised to see two of her best guards standing in front of the door. The two guards bowed their heads when they saw Erza and took a knee.

"Rise," She said simply, the guards did as they were told. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Your majesty... We were tasked to keep this prisoner well guarded" One of the guards said as they stood up from their kneeling position

"Who gave you that order?" Erza asked

"Your mother did, your majesty" was her answer

Erza looked down to the ground at hearing her mother being mentioned. She shook her head before looking at the guards.

"Open the door," She said the guard's eyes opened wide in surprise

"Uhh... pardon me your majesty, but I don`t think that`s-"

"Are you defying me?" She said in a low voice, her eyes glaring at the two.

The two guards quickly opened the door and stepped aside for her to go in. They were about to follow her in, but a glare from her stopped them in their tracks.

"I don`t need you two to protect me. Stay out here so no one interrupts me" Erza said as she walked deeper into the room, the guards looked at one another before slowly closing the door behind her.

Erza looked around the cell there was one small window, that had the light of the sun coming through it. No bed, no bathroom or anything. Just how it was supposed to be for these "beasts". Her eyes finally found what they were looking for, a shadow of a body leaning with his back against the cobblestone wall behind him. She walked closer where she could have a clear view of him. Her eyes became wider slightly at what she saw.

He is chained by his arms and legs around his wrist and ankles as well as around both his biceps and knees. He was also chained around his neck, a leather muffler wrapped tightly around his mouth. He looked stronger then most man in her kingdom with that fair muscular build of his, he had a black vest which was opened up giving Erza a perfect view of his toned chest and six-pack.

He wore white baggy pants and had sandals on his feet. But what really caught her attention was the white scarf around his neck with a dragon scale pattern on it and his hair. Who the hell has pink hair?

She walked until she was looking down at him. She heard him breathe meaning he was still alive, she slowly lifted her hand and put it on top of his head. Roughly grabbing a hold of his hair, she begins to lift him off the ground. She gave his face a look since the sunlight was shining down upon them now.

She saw his young but animalistic face. He had fangs bigger than her own and rugged jawline. His eyes were still closed and she could hear faint snore coming from his lips.

"_So this animal is sleeping huh... Well, he is about to get a rude awakening_" She thought as she pulled her fist back. She took aim, her fist tightening around gauntlets metal, bending it to fit her fist perfectly. She waited a little bit longer seeing if he will wake up.

He didn`t...

Her fist flew through the air at the speed faster the eye could see, she aimed at his jawline within mind to snap it right off.

As the fist was coming closer...

And closer...

Closer...

"_Smack_"

The fist hit...

But not what it was aiming for. It hit the open-palmed of the hand which was now holding it and was now applying pressure on it.

Erza`s eyes shoot open in shock as she took her eyes off the hand that was clutching her fist, to the face of the one who had her fist captive.

Onyx eyes meet brown...

And one of them was glaring at the other...

It was not brown...

Her breath got stuck in her throat as she looked into the face of now awaken animal. And he did not look happy at all.

He let out a growl before his eyes narrowed dangerously low as he pulled his right fist back.

And he last thing Princess Erza heard and saw is the cobblestone ceiling and the shouting from someone calling for assistance.

**Author`s note: First chapter down. I hope I did not butcher any ****characters**** or locations here. If I did then pls let me know.**

**I hope you enjoyed.**

**See ya.**


	2. Dragons Trail

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: I forgot to mention 2 things in the first chapter. First thing is that this is an M rated story. Meaning there will be blood, violence, and lemons later down the road. The next thing is that I am horrible at describing anything, so don`t expect much.**

**That is pretty much it.**

**Enjoy chapter 2.**

Chapter 2

Dragon`s trail

When Erza opened her eyes, she noticed there was a wooden ceiling instead of a cobblestone one. She blinked before sitting up as soon as she did, she felt something she did not feel in a long time.

Pain...

She put her hand on her arching jaw where the pain was coming from. She rubbed the spot trying to ease out the pain.

She was in the infirmary. Her brigade must have taken her there when she was knocked out. The room was filled with 10 beds, each of the beds had a small table on the side with medical tools on it and one big closet filled with medicine bottles.

"So your finally awake..." a voice all too familiar to Erza said from her left, her eyes shifting to the owner of the voice.

Her mother was sitting in a chair, a good distance away from her. Her eyes were closed, her hands over one another as they rested on her lap. She got up from the chair and walked over to Erza`s bed. She set down at the edge of it, her brown eyes opening as she spoke again.

"How is your cheek," She said reaching out to touch her daughter`s cheek, Erza turned her head away from her avoiding her touch.

"It`s fine," She said not looking at her mother. Irene saw her daughter clutching the blanket that was covering her lap. She knew why she was angry right now and she needed to calm her down before they have their discussion.

"Erza look at me" Irene ordered leaving Erza with no choice but to do so."You have to calm down... A warrior must never let herself be blinded by rage" at those words Erza calmed down and nodded, her shoulders lowered as her eyes looked down in shame. Irene fixed some of her darker scarlet hair back into its ponytail before continuing with her talk.

"So... do you remember what happened?" Irene asked while tilting her head slightly. Erza looked up at her, she realized that after that "_thing_" growled at her, she could not remember what happened after that. She shook her head as an answer.

"Hmm... Well from what the guards told me. You went down there to punish him right?" Irene asked Erza nodded "Well my dear daughter... Were you flying through the stone wall, one of your punishing methods?" Irene asked but this time Erza set still her eyes opened wide in shock.

Someone sent her flying through the wall... Her? She couldn`t believe it. She refused to believe it. That man punched her once... ONCE. And that sent her fly-.

"Judging by the look on your face. I`ll say it wasn`t" Erza glared at her now but immediately regretted when Irene returned her glare with one of her own.

She crossed her arms under her chest and lain on the wall behind her. Irene sighed at her daughter's attitude, she really did not want to have to butt heads with her daughter over this. She closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose, before opening her eyes.

"How did it happen," Irene asked, Erza taught about it herself, wondering how he hit her.

"ANSWER ME!" Irene shouted after not receiving an immediate answer

"I DON`T KNOW!" Erza shouted back "HE JUST PUNCHED ME IN A FACE AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, I WOKE UP HERE WITH YOU ASKING ME ALL THIS STUPID QUESTIONS"

...

Silence took over the room, only sounds that could be heard are heavy breaths from the two royalties. Irene was the first on to calm down, she stood up from the edge of the bad, fixed her robe around her before walking towards the door.

"The man`s trial will start in 30 minutes, don`t be late," Irene said before the door closed around her.

Erza angerly rose from her bed before flipping it over with one hand. She then slammed her fist down on the table that was by it. It broke upon impact. She was furious as all hell.

First, this man makes a fool out of her, and now her mother got here even more frustrated. She looked down at her right hand, slowly closing it into a fist. She squeezed her right fist in rage as she made a promise upon her honor.

"_By my honor as a warrior and as a princess. I will make sure you suffer before you die"_ Erza thought as she marched out of the room and towards the throne room.

**1 minute before the trail:**

Erza opened the door to the throne room, upon her entering she saw many nobles and citizens have gathered in there. All of them will be acting as yuri, her mother was already sitting at her throne giving orders to the guards to bring the prisoner in.

Her mother was going to be the judge...

Erza hoped that she will be the executioner...

As she passed everyone in the room got down on one knee and bow down to her. She decided to stand on her mother's right side, her hands behind her back as she stood proudly in front of her people.

"You know we still have to have that talk, I told you about" Irene whispered to her, her cheek resting on her right fist in a slightly bored manner.

"I haven`t forgotten," Erza said while not looking at her, she was still upset at her.

The big door of the throne room opened as the young man with pink hair and onyx pair of eyes, was harshly dragged inside the room. He was still wearing his vest, pants, and sandals, the leather muffler still around his mouth. The moment the crowd saw him they started to boo him.

Insulting him with various names such as "animal", "disgusting" or "mongrel". He keeps on trying to pull back on chains that he was dragged by but since it was 5 on one, with each guard pulling one chain. He was chained by his arms, ankles, and neck, the neck one forcing him to move forward more so than others.

When he was 20 feet in front of sitting Irene, he was kicked into the back of his knees making him fall down on to them. He took heavy breaths, tiered from his struggle against his captors. Irene raised her hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down and sit.

They all did. She cleared her voice and started.

"Now we begin the trail to determine the fate of the man kneeling before me," Irene said as she looked towards the audience. "Will the first witness please step forward"

Kagura stepped forward and bowed down to her queen before rising again.

"State your name and rank," Irene told Kagura

"My name is Kagura Mikazuchi. I am the second strongest woman of Alvarez kingdom and general of princess Erza`s elite brigade." Kagura said with pride and determination making Erza smirk at her apprentice`s words.

"Now when did you encounter this man?" Irene gestured to the pink-haired man who was looking at Kagura.

"Me and 9 more of princesses brigade were scouting the surrounding forest around the kingdom. It was early in the morning that we encountered a group of 6 males inside it, not too far away from the kingdom" Kagura answered

"And what were your thoughts when you spotted the group?" Irene asked looking at the man more closely, studying his muscular arms, well-toned chest and six-pack.

"To capture them" Kagura answered swiftly

"And did you?"

...

Kagura`s answer was not instant, but she did answer after a few seconds.

"No your majesty" Irene removed her eyes from the man`s body.

"And why not?" Kagura looked down at the floor almost in shame. She shook slightly from nervousness as the crowd begin to whisper to each other. Kagura looked up, her right hand pointing towards the pink-haired boy.

"Because of him," She said pointing but not looking at him "He was not a part of the group form what we could tell, nor is he from our kingdom. He came out of nowhere and started fighting our group warriors."

"At first I thought he will be an easy first victim. But then he surprised me when he punched one of our riders of its horse with a single punch. Set her flying across the forest. Then he proceeded to fight all of us by himself while the group of males escaped. We managed to knock him out after a while, but 4 of our comrades are in the comas due to the concessions" Kagura finished her story.

Irene set up right now, her left hand under her chin in a thinking position. She was thinking about all the things Kagura told her now. She couldn`t believe that a single man was able to hold his own against a small group of 6 highly skilled warriors, not to mention Kagura was called the second strongest swordswoman in their kingdom. A title that is not earned from small tasks.

Her eyes fell upon the chained man again. She holds his gaze for a few minutes until turning back to Kagura.

"What do you think that his punishment should be?" asked the queen

"His punishment should be described in one simple word... Death" the crowed cheered after Kagura said that, wanting this man to die.

"No more questions. You are dismissed" Kagura nodded and went back to her seat "Now let`s begin the judging phase," Irene said, the crowd immediately started shouting for mans blood.

"CUT HIS HEAD OFF!"

"RIP HIS GUTS OUT!"

"CUT HIS DICK OFF"

"SILENCE!" "_BOOM"_

Everyone shut up as the loud sound tore through the room. Irene has just slammed her hand on one of the arm resters on her chair. Everyone was scared shitless as her glare was direct on them, all except Erza who just crossed her arms over her chest.

"As I was saying... Let`s begin a judging phase. That is unless the accused has something to say in his defense." Irene said looking at the man who seemed to perk up at those words.

He nodded

Irene raised her hand, gesturing for the guard to remove the muffler from his mouth. The guard went behind the prisoner and started to remove it. When the muffler was off, he took a deep breath then exhaled through his nose, he did that a few time before looking at the queen.

"What is your name?" Irene asked

"Natsu Dragneel" He answered with a voice filled with distaste and disrespect

Erza was about to walk down to him and show him what happened when you disrespect the queen but a hand raise from her mother stopped her in her tracks.

"Where do you hail from Natsu?" Irene continued. The name Dragneel sounds familiar to her.

"From the forest," He said simply.

"_Forest? Did he live in a forest before being captured, is that why he looks like that?"_ Irene thought, Erza thinking the same thing.

"How did you manage to beat 4 of our strongest warriors," Irene asked, she bet everyone would like to know that.

"Strongest? If that`s what you call strong, then I strongly suggest you change your training regiments" This earned him another barrage of insults from the crowed as Irene raised her hand to silence them.

"What do you mean," Irene asked, the man just grinned as he said

"Those girls couldn`t even cut me" This surprised everyone in the room.

"_Couldn`t even cut him... huh?"_ Irene thought to herself. For a few seconds, she was silent as well as the crowd. It was so quiet you could hear a fly buzzing in the air.

"Is this true?" She said looking at Kagura, she rubbed her right elbow with her left hand in nervousness before answering.

"Yes..." Irene looked at Natsu who now had a smug grin on his face.

Erza seeing how smug and cocky he was acting wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk right off his face. But once again that approach was stopped by her mother.

So she went for shouting at him instead.

"THAT IS A LOUD OF BULLSHIT. OUR SWORDS CAN CUT THROUGH ANY ROCK, WOOD OR METAL. THERE IS NO WAY THAT IT CAN NOT CUT YOUR FLESH." Her anger showing in every word, making people inside the room take an instinctive step back.

Natsu`s smirk did not fall as he said.

"Well, maybe my skin is just too hard for your swords to cut. Unlike your skin red... You got knocked out from such a weak punch, that got me wondering if you are even a warrior."

"_If your even a warrior..."_Faster then anyone could react, she pulled her sword from her sheat and charged at him. Ignoring her mother shouting her name. She jumped in the air, her sword raised high over her head ready to bring it down onto his.

He reacted quickly by pulling the chain from the guard to his right, who was holding his right-hand captive. He quickly brought his forearm up in front of him, in an attempt to block the blow to his head.

Erza smirked at his action. What idiot uses his body to protect him, he was really delusional if he thinks he can stop her sword with just his arm. She used all of her strength to bring down her sword, in a clear goal to cut his forearm off.

The contact was made and then.

"CLINK"

"clink..."

"clink..."

The sword broke over his forearm. Erza, Kagura, guards, the crowed and the queen all had their eyes wide opened in disbelief. Erza landed on her feet and looked at her now broken blade. The blade was split into two pieces. The one where the tip was now laying on the floor between the two and the one with the guard, handle and pommel still in her hand.

She looked up from the broken piece at Natsu who now had a feral grin. His former no blood or cut anywhere. It's like he was not even hit with the blade. She meets his gaze and felt an emotion she did hasn`t felt in a long time.

Fear...

As everyone was still shocked Natsu dashed forward making the guards that were holding his chains let go. He moved fast and calculated, in a matter of moment he was in front of Erza his fist pulled back, his gaze set on the cheek that he hit before. Faster then ever she could react the fist hit her hard.

She felt her body being taken off the ground as she was sent flying towards the guards on the right side of the hall. Her world spun around her as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Irene looked down at her downed daughter in a mix of surprise and curiosity. She looked over to Natsu who was now being tackled by all the guards in the room. He tried to fight off some of them but one tugged at the chain around his neck was enough of a distraction for others to pile on top of him.

"_Dragneel huh..."_She taught while rubbing her chin. Then she stood up making everyone stop moving and shouting at Natsu. She walked over until she was about 20 meters from Natsu. She looked down into his onyx eyes while he stared back at her brown ones. He tried to stand up but only got up to the point where he was still on one knee.

"Natsu Dragneel... You are an interesting thing." She said as she touched his cheek, making him move away from her. "Really interesting".

She went back to her throne and set down. Her hand raised getting everyone's attention. And with a voice full of order and authority, she told them.

"I the queen of Alvarez, hereby sentence you... Natsu Dragneel...to" the yuri was at the edge of their seats as they waited for the kill command.

Kagura who was checking if Erza is alright, also wanted for the queen to issue to kill.

"To a lifetime as a slave to the castle of Belserion family and a gladiator in our arena, so that we could see if all that talk about your strength is truth or not."

...

No one expected this.

The yuri exploded. Shouting and yelling their protests and telling the queen to change her decision. The queen told the guards to take Natsu away, before addressing the noble crowed.

"SILENCE!... I know what is said in the law that I ordered. But this is a real gem in the rough. A man like him is born every 100 years, and I will not waste him if I can use him. So if any of you have any more words to be thrown. I will gladly listen to them"

...

With that, the queen nodded her head and turned back to sit on her throne. The nobles all left the room and went back to their homes. Kagura slung Erza over her shoulders and proceeded to walk out as well.

"Kagura..."

Kagura turned around, her eyes meet the queens.

"When Erza wakes up. Tell her that I want to speak with her okay?" Kagura nodded at the queen's request as she left for the infirmary.

Irene ran her hand over her face, before relishing a sigh. She thought back to that name Dragneel something about that name sounded so familiar to her, if only she could remember from where did she hear it from.

"_Dragneel... Dragneel..._

_..._

_Igneel?"_ her eyes widen in realization, as a small smile made its way across her lips.

**Author`s note:** **I wanted this chapter to be a little bit bigger on words and content, but I guess my inspiration left me pretty soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are having a good day so far.**

**See ya in another chapter.**

**Bye. **


	3. The Princess vs the Dragon

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: Thank you all for the support you guys are great. I am sorry for the typos as some of you find them annoying and I understand. They annoy me too when I read through this as well. But it`s something that my brain is telling me to do and I don`t really have any good word editor, so its a lot harder to improve without that.**

**Sometimes I wish I was born in the UK or the USA...**

**Meh. Whatever...**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 3.**

**Talk to ya all at the end.**

Chapter 3

The Princess vs a Dragon

Have you ever wondered what death looked like? Well if you thought about a red-haired female knight, with brown eyes filled with so much anger that if they land upon someone they will be dead in an instant. Her cold metal boots, impact hard against the stone floor as she marches forward. The frown never leaving her face.

Kagura told her what happened when she woke up. She told her about Natsu`s judgment, how her mother pronounced him as a slave and a gladiator, and how he was going to fight in the arena today.

Erza was really pissed at her mother for that. She wanted nothing more than to go to her mother and give her a piece of her mind. However as she came to the throne room, she took a deep breath before letting it back out.

She can`t let her anger cloud her judgment, for she was the strongest warrior here and she will stand proud with her head held high. She entered the throne room and saw her mother looking down on her. She slowly approached her mother, her eyes never letting her out of their sight.

"That is close enough Erza" Irene`s voice sounded through the room. Erza instantly stopped moving in the center of the room.

"Now then... I presume Kagura told you everything." Irene said

"Yes. She told me about your decision about his punishment." Erza said in a displeased tone, her arms coming together to be crossed over her chest "However... I am most displeased with your decision. Dear mother..."

Irene frown at the tone her daughter was using with her. She thought Erza would understand what this could mean for their kingdom, but apparently she was still much too young to understand.

"Erza... You have to understand that"

"UNDERSTAND!" Erza shouted at Irene making the queen`s eyes open wide in shock "HE KNOCKED ME OUT COLD! NOT ONCE BUT TWICE NOW... AND YOU`RE TELLING ME TO UNDERSTAND! UNDERSTAND WHAT MOTHER" Erza`s voice echoed through the hall. She couldn`t hold it in anymore.

In less than 2 days. She was sent flying twice, embarrassed, humiliated and disrespected. And now her mother was telling her that she was the one who needed to understand. No, she will make sure that he got what was coming to him. They both knew what the penalty for trying to run away from their kingdom and she will be damned if she lets her mother...

"_SLAP"_

...

Erza`s hand went to her cheek. A stinging sensation went through it as she looked back at the one who caused it. Her mother just slapped her...

Her...

"Don`t you ever... EVER... talk when I am talking..." Irene with a glare as she walked back to her throne and set down while letting out a sigh.

"Now then... Erza, you must understand that this decision is the best possible one. A man like him is not born every day, so imagine what he could do for us when we bend him to our will. He is our slave, after all, so he will have to obey us from now on."

"And if he doesn't?" Erza said not thrusting her mother`s words

"Then there are more ways to make a man bow down to woman," Irene said with a smile making Erza`s eyebrow rise. However before she could question her mother about the matter, she saw a guard walk to the queen`s side with a metal box in her hands.

Irene took the box from her guard, giving the girl a quick thank you before looking inside. A smile grew on her face as she closed the box and set it in the small table by her throne.

"Now then let`s discuss important stuff" Erza raised her eyebrow at that "You will soon be 18 meaning that you will be old enough to choose your husband."

Erza knew this was coming. It was true that at 18 years of age, Alvarez woman would go and chose their husband out of any male in the kingdom. They did not care if they were fine with it or against it when a woman chooses you to be her man you have no choice in that matter.

Erza`s eyes narrowed in disgust by just the thought of a man touching her. She did not need any of those weaklings, they would only ruin her image and status in her kingdom. Not to mention all men are pigs, dogs, and worms. They should all just stay in the dirt where they belong.

"I don`t need nor do I want a husband mother," Erza said her frown deepening on her face

"Oh... Are you saying you like woman Erza?" Irene asked her daughter with a raised eyebrow

"NOT IN THAT WAY!" Erza shouted her cheeks red in embarrassment

Irene smiled at her daughter's red face "Then why not get a husband. I do want some grandchildren before I die you know"

"No man is worthy enough to have me," Erza said simply, making her mother sigh with her hand on her forehead.

"Fine dear... Whatever you say. There will be a Nobel meeting tomorrow in the morning, don`t be late on it." Erza nodded at the queen "That is all... You are dismissed."

Erza turned her back to Irene and went out of the throne room. Irene let out a tired sigh, she gently rubbed the back of her neck trying to ease out the stiffness in it.

"_No man is worthy ha?..."_ Irene`s eyes pulled out a small letter from her coat, her hand running of the wax stamp recognizing it. "_We will see about that my dear daughter..."_

**About 30 minutes later:**

**(Imagine a colosseum from "The Gladiator" movie as we talk about this and all other areas. I know its a lazy writing and I am a lazy scumbag. But please have some mercy on me. Don`t be like Erza pls. Thank you.)**

Erza has finally arrived at the arena, a place all too familiar to her. She had many battles inside of it, both for taking and making titles. She was probably the only woman that saw this place as more than a place to watch blood, sweat, and tears were spilled.

To her, this was home...

She walked through the stone halls before coming to the door that leads to the main balcony, where she knew who she will find there. Pushing both doors open, she walked over to the single giant chair surrounded by 6 male slaves. Two that were standing were lightly swinging a giant features up and down, creating a makeshift wind to blow in their facing direction. The other two were holding a platter of grapes and a jug of wine, while the last two were massaging both legs of the one who was occupying the chair.

All of the slaves wore a roman servant clothing instead of rags, meaning they were owned by someone. Erza paid them no mind as she walked around the chair to stand in front of the person in the chair.

Her white platinum hair tied into a ponytail, she wore a light purple roman dress with white boots that went to her knees. Her face was one of bless as her slaves give her all of the attention. Her eyes closed as she was enjoying herself.

This was Mirajane. The demon of Alvarez.

She is the one who organizes the battles in the arena. She took this job in the hope of raising enough money to help her family. Soon she got really into it and became one of the ruthless women to ever be known to Alvarez. Why you ask? Because she shows no mercy to anyone who steps into her arena.

One time when a male gladiator was about the beat another that she betting on. She told her guard to shot him with an arrow to secure her money income. After she "saved" her gladiator, the poor guy praised her for her beauty and generosity. Only to later become cat food, as Mira told her guards to release the lions. Her smile never leaving her face as she watched the lions devour the poor guy.

She had no mercy for the weak.

Her eyes opened when she sensed a presence in front of her. Her dark blue eyes locking with a pair of brown ones. She smiled at Erza before pointing her thumbs back, making all 6 men leave the two females alone.

"Ah, it's nice to see you again Erza," Mira said, crossing one leg over the other "Want some wine?"

Erza shook her head in a no, to which Mira just shugged her shoulders. She snapped her fingers and a servant poured her some wine into a golden cup, from which she took a sip from afterwords.

"It's nice to see you too Mira. How is Lisanna?" Erza asked

Mira looks down at the floor, her face showing her the sadness as a single tear slipped from her eye. Lisanna was her twin sister, they had a younger brother Elfman who was with them ever since their parents died. About two years ago Elfman died from a terrible sickness that could not be cured, his death hit both white-haired sisters hard. Lisanna more than Mira. Mira shook her head to clear her thoughts as her smile came back to her face.

"She is doing better. She is really taking this warden business really well" Mira said while taking another sip from her cup.

You see. Lisanna was working as a warden for the gladiators, she was in charge of getting the gladiators out to the arena. Sometimes when they wouldn`t get out, so she has to use some force to let them know that she meant business. Erza nodded before turning her back to Mira and came to rest her arms on the stone fence of the balcony. There were many people in the arena, about 50.000 people came to see what she was here to see.

As in reading her mind, Mira decided to ask her "What did you come to see Erza?" Erza turned her gaze from the crowd back to Mira. Her eyes bearly keeping in her rage from bursting out as she answered.

"For the pink-haired pig"

Mira brought her hand to her chin and looked to be in thought. She then snapped her fingers as her eyes opened wide.

"Ah yes... I remember Lisanna telling me something about the new meat have a pink-hair. However, I was not planning to call for him until I got bored." Mira said as her eyebrow raised in question "Why you want to see that one specifically?"

"I want to watch him bleed and scream in pain" Mira smiled at the sound of that. If there was one thing she loved more then her business, that was screaming in pain and bleeding like a stuffed pig. She called for one of her slaves to go tell her sister the news.

"Well, your majesty... Ask and you shall receive"

**Arena ****dungeon****:**

Lisanna has seen many male`s come and die here. She was in charge of bringing them out to their death. However, never in her life has she seen a male with pink hair. She stood in front of his cell looking at him through the bars. Studying him as he looked to be asleep.

"_He is kinda cute,"_ she thought, blush already at her cheeks. Although she was not as nice and as naive as she was before her brother`s death. She was still trying to make everyone who she considered a friend happy. She didn`t know what it was but her heart was telling her that the boy sitting in the cell was trustworthy and a kind soul.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a man she recognized as one of her sister's slaves walked over to her and whispered into her ear. She nodded at him and sent him away. She then took keys that were hanging from her waist and opened the door. The sound of a door opening woke Natsu up, he watched Lisanna walk over to him and unlock the cuffs that were on him.

Lisanna thought that he would try to fight back or escape as many others have, she had her right hand on the dagger that was hidden behind her back in case that happens. She was surprised when he just looked at her before gesturing with his hand to lead the way. After a short pause, she took the lead and walked him to the arena door.

When the door was pulled up for him to enter the colosseum. He ripped the leather muffler from his face and throw it at the side. He took a deep breath into his lungs, before looking at Lisanna who was standing to the side.

"Thank you for not using that," he said while pointing at the dagger "I guess not everyone is as bad as out there" after that he walked out to the colosseum.

In Lisanna`s mind, there were two thoughts going through it. First, how did he knew she had a dagger behind her? She was hiding it very carefully and made sure it was out of his sight the whole time.

And second...

How did he know Erza was here?

**In the arena:**

Natsu had to cover his eyes with his hand as his eye stung from the brightness of the sun. He made his way out to the center, all while people inside the arena were shouting insults and throwing random stuff at him.

"HEY WATCH IT!" He shouted at the crowd because someone throws a brick at him making him doge it.

When he arrived at the center he looked around, scanning the crowd for certain someone. When his eyes fell onto the balcony above the arena, he saw Erza glaring death at him. He just smiled at her and waved his hand, chuckling when her expression got even angrier than before.

"_THUMP"_

"_THUMP"_

A loud footsteps were heard coming from in front of him making him look across. There was a man making his way slowly to him. He looked to be in his 40 years of age, with slightly gray-brown hair, his gray eyes looking at Natsu. He stood at 7 feet tall and was heavily muscular for a man that size. He wore no shirt and no shoes, the only thing he was wearing was a pair of black pants. In his right hand, a great sword swung with every step he took.

When the man was standing in front of Natsu, he smashed his sword into the ground creating a large dust of sand to form and the crowd to cheer.

Natsu smirked at the giant, cracking his knuckles as he got into his stance.

"I am sorry for this," the man said in a deep and raspy voice.

"No hard feelings man," Natsu said back to him.

The giant let out a battle cry before pulling his sword up above his head and slamming it down to where Natsu was standing making more sand fly around. Erza smirked at the scene thinking that it was over. Mira yawned in boredom as she hold her cup up for a refile.

"Really Erza? That was all he had to offer... What a waste. He had such a nice body too" Mira said as she took another sip from her dring. Erza glared at her from the corner of her eyes before quickly looking back to the center. The cloud of sand was beginning to clear.

When it cleared there stood a giant holding his sword with both hands, his arms were shaking as if he was struggling against something that was holding him down. The cloud vanished.

And there stood Natsu.

Completely fine without a scratch on him. His smirk still presented on his face, but what got everyone shocked was that he was holding onto the great swords with both hands underneath the blade.

At this Mira spit out the wine that she was drinking and cough a little bit before running to the railing as if to see if her eyes were not deceiving her. Lisanna, who was looking at the fight through the bars of the door Natsu walked through. She also had her eyes opened wide in shock not believing what she was seeing.

Erza also had her mouth opened and her eyes wide. She did not expect this... How can a man stop an attack like that... With HIS BARE HANDS OF ALL THINGS. She snapped out of her shock state and gritted her teeth together in anger. She refused to believe it.

Natsu throws the sword back at the giant making him stumble on his feet duo to the power of the throw. He then charged forward and punched a bigger man in a knee. The giant dropped down to one knee and tried to retaliate by taking another swing at Natsu. Natsu ducked under the swing and used bot his legs to lunch himself towards the giant's jaw. His head hit its mark with a loud "_CRACK" _and the giant fell down onto his back.

Knocked out by a headbutt to the chin.

...

Natsu looked around the arena, before scratching his chin. Wasn`t something supposed to happen? Natsu continued to look at the crowd, who all had a look of shock with their mouths wide open. One woman broke from her shock first and raised her hands before clapping them together.

"CLAP"

"CLAP"

"CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP"

"WOOOOOO" The crowed clapped for Natsu as he smiled at them. He gave the crowd a wave before the crowd started to chant "PINKY, PINKY" to which a thick mark formed on his forehead.

"Quiet down, Quiet down..." Mira told the cheerful crowd.

Her gaze meets Natsu`s while he looked back at her with a frown. "What is your name?"

Natsu surprised by this question answered her "Natsu Dragneel"

"Natsu... GIVE ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR NATSU!" Mira shouted to the crowd to which they followed her command "I must say Natsu... You are stronger then you look. Not even 10 men could do, what you have just done. You have peaked my attention." Mira said with a scary smile on her face making a shiver go down Natsu`s spine.

"You did good... Now kill him" Mira said simply as Natsu`s eyes opened wide. He looked down at the man, then back at Mira who was lightly tapping her finger against her biceps where her arms were crossed over her chest. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"You want me to kill him?" Natsu asked not believing what he heard

"Yes," Mira said getting annoyed by Natsu`s hesitation.

"No..." Natsu said surprising everyone in the arena.

"_No?_" Mira thought as she watched Natsu`s determined and angry face. No one has dared to defy her in years. Not even her own siblings have ever talked back to her. And this slave... This worn that was lower than her, had the guts to say something back to her.

Well, since he has them... Why not spill them.

Mira smiled as that idea went through her mind, her gaze fell back onto Natsu before giving him a smirk. "Well Natsu... if you won`t kill him so that you may live another day, then you can both die screaming alongside each other."

Mira snapped her fingers, signaling to her slaves to pull the chains. The sound of a door being pulled open could be heard as 6 doors opened at the same time

"_ROAR"_ 6 Lions came out of each door. Looking really hungry, they start to circle around Natsu and a giant who was still knocked out. The crowd was cheering again, only this time for Natsu`s blood to be spilled.

Erza now had another smirk on her face. She thought that this would be it for that pink-haired Barberian. Her smirk only widens as the lions charged at Natsu, oh she was so ready to hear the man that embarrassed her scream.

However, the lions stopped mid charge. Everyone expect Natsu was confused by this, why did they suddenly stop. They heard what sounded like whining before all 6 lions sprinted back through the doors they came from, trembling in fear as they laid in their cages.

...

Arena was silent once more.

"So... was that all you had?" Natsu asked while rubbing the back of his head.

"Uhh..." Mira was speechless as was Lisanna who was now even more curious about the pink-haired boy. Both sisters did not know what to think, they watched many men enter into the arena. Some were good, some were bad. But this one... This one was different then any other they have ever seen.

"_SLAM" _A armored fist slammed onto the balcony railing, breaking it in process. She jumped off the balcony and onto the arena floor. Landed few feet away from Natsu, they stared at each other for god knows how long before they begin to make a circle one another. Not even caring that the guards were taking the giant out of the arena.

"What`s up red... Came for another K.O. from me?" Natsu asked with a smug look on his face

Erza stopped circling making him stop as well. She holds out her hands to her side as the yellow light appeared out of nowhere. Natsu`s eyes opened wide, he watched as two swords appeared in each of her hands.

"Magic?" He whispered the question more to himself than to his opponent, who got into her stance. The crowd cheering even louder than before, all-knowing that Princess Erza was going to slaughter him.

Mira set back in her chair, ready to enjoy the show. Lisanna turned her back to the fight and proceeded to walk away. Thinking that Natsu has already lost. After all, she knew no one could beat the princess.

"You have embarrassed me and my kingdom for the last time." Erza said venom dripping from her words "I will cut you down right here and now"

Natsu only chuckled at her before giving her a "bring it" sign with his hand "You can try"

Erza wasted no time after that charging at Natsu with tremendous speed. She slashed, swung and cleaved at him but all of her attacks were either dodged or blocked like that time in the throne room. When her next double slash was blocked, he took a closer look at his arm and saw what was stopping her from cutting him.

"_Are those... scales?"_ she jumped back creating some distance between the two. She was panting slightly from her strikes, while Natsu was still smirking at her and appeared to not have broken a sweat since the begun.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she looked back Natsu`s arms and she saw that they looked normal. She blinked a few times before focusing her gaze on his arms again trying to see if there were really scales on them of some kind.

There were none.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Her warcry made everyone in the arena shut up, as her eyes burned with fury "WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT HERE HUH? HOW CAN YOU BLOCK MY SWORD`S WITH YOU BARE HANDS?"

Natsu smiled at Erza`s angry outburst as he just decided to play her for a fool and shugged his shoulder`s "Who knows... Maybe it`s because that my skin is too strong you can`t cut it or maybe you just suck as a swordswoman"

"_Twitch_"

"_Twitch"_

Erza`s eye was twitching. Herr grip on her swords tighten and her shoulders raised. Her face showed nothing but pure rage, making the crowed shake in fear. She requipped her two swords and summoned a spear. She got down into a charging position, her spear pointing at Natsu.

"Fine... Don`t tell me... But now I will make sure. That you never go back to wherever you came from. I will make sure your parents never see your face again."

...

Silence rang through the arena once more.

"_Oi oi... Isn`t that a little cold Erza?" _Mira thought in worry about what her princess just said, Mira knew Erza cared about those dear to her, however, she never saw how Erza acts when she is fighting someone. Especially against someone who can hold his own against her, Mira just hopes Erza will not do something she will regret.

Erza charged Natsu with her spear. She was getting closer by the second. Natsu did not move at all, his hair was covering his eyes as he just stood there. Erza smirked thinking she has won, her spear hit Natsu dead on the impact send a shock wave through the arena, shocking everyone in it.

"_BREAK..."_

Erza`s smirk fell as she felt the spear in her hand's break at the head. She looked at where the spear hit Natsu on the stomack and saw no blood or pierced skin.

Only scales...

She looked up into his face and saw two onyx orbs staring daggers at her. A sense of danger came over her making her raise the rest of her spear up to block the punch from the enraged boy.

The rest of the spear broke in two as she flew through the air from the force of his punch. She did a backflip in the air as she landed on her feet. Her gut was telling her to run but her pride was too big if she loses now, half of her kingdom will know that she got beaten by a man.

She could not let this pink-haired punk ruin her image and status. She will not let him. She was going to charge in again with another weapon but stopped when she saw him suck the air in his lungs.

She was confused at what he was doing but her instincts told her it was no good. She quickly requipped her two shields as she brought them together in front of her. Just in time to block the attack from Natsu.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S ROAR!**" a wave of fire was launched at Erza which was blocked by her shields. However, the heat from the fire still hurt her, her arms trembled while she was trying to keep her hold on the two shields.

When the fire finally died down, her shields shattered to pieces as her legs give up on her. It was hard for her to breath while her armor was slightly black and some parts melted from the heat of the flames. She could not move at all as her brown eyes looked up at Natsu`s.

Fear once again invaded her body as he pulled his fist back and ignited it, looking to end this with one final blow. The crowd was also beginning to panic not just because a male knew magic, but also for their princess's safety.

"STOP HIM" Mira ordered her slaves as they tried to get closer to Natsu but the heat he was emitting was too much for them.

Erza closed her eyes and waited for the punch to come.

But it never did...

She looked back at Natsu and saw him now behind her walking back towards the dungeons. When he arrived at the door he had to shake the guard from his shock in order to put a pair of cuffs on him. Natsu looked back at Erza one more time before disappearing behind the steel doors.

Erza did not know what to make of this... She ran a hand over her face as she got up on shaky feet. Walking over to the center of the ring, she waited for a few seconds before raising her fist up into the air.

The crowd cheered again for their princess's victory, although some of the audience members did not. They were still thinking about that fire attack. Meanwhile, Mira was taking in the sight of her beat-up friend thinking silently to herself.

"_Looks like you finally found your match Erza... Question is. Will you be able to take him before I do."_ Mira smiled her evil smile, she later told her slave to prepare a bed for the princess in the infirmary.

Erza put her arm down, feeling more tiered then ever. She begins to walk to the door, she knew that will lead her to the infirmary. But stopped only to look back at the door Natsu went out through.

She felt her heartbeat increase, as well as a warm feeling, went through her core. "_What is this feeling... It's so warm..."_ She shook her head clear of those thoughts while she slowly made her way to the arena`s infirmary.

**Author`s note: okay this was hella rushed. And I am sorry because of that I just really wanted to get this chapter out since I don`t really like to write fighting scenes. So I know there is not a lot of meaningful things happening and I know that it's probably my worst chapter for now. But I still hope you enjoyed a little part of it. And I hope you guys have a great day.**

**Also, I am opened to suggestions on one-shots or mini-stories.**

**You can PM your suggestions and I will see what can I do.**

**That is all for now.**

**See ya.**


	4. Taiming the Dragon

**Her Champion**

Chapter 4

Taming the Dragon

**In the infirmary:**

Erza was laying down in one of the beds, her wounds were treated and bandaged. Her arms and shoulders had little burn marks all over them, while most of her body was sore as hell. This was something she taught she will never feel again.

The sensation of pain and fatigue.

She was no longer wearing her armor. Instead of that, she was wearing a white dress.

She looks at the bandages in curiosity, she did not feel as angry as she was earlier. Her mind was racing back and forth between what had happened out there and this new feeling she felt before she left.

"_Why did he let me win? Why did he not finish it? What was that feeling back then?" _Her strong and beautiful face frown in thought, not noticing the door of infirmary open.

Mira and Lisanna walked into the room and saw Erza laying on the bed. They walked over to her bedside and waited for her to acknowledge them. After about 5 minutes the older sibling decided to call out to their princess.

"Your majesty?" Erza`s eyes blinked for a second before they turned to look at the two sisters.

"Yes, Mira?" Erza asked in a calm voice

"How are you feeling?" Mira asked, genuinely concerned for her princess/friend

Erza rolled her shoulders, feeling out the soreness before answering her with a small smile "Little bit sore... But I will be fine after I make a visit to the healers".

Both Lisanna`s and Mira`s eyes widen at those words, making Erza`s eyebrow rise

"What?" She asked the two

"Well, it`s just... You haven`t been there in years" Lisanna said in a surprised tone of voice

Erza thought about it and realized that she was right. The last time she went to the healers was when she was 11 years old after she has won the tournament. Her opponent got lucky and landed a strike on her above her eyebrow. It was not a stab, she only got hit with the tip of the blade as she was dodging the swing.

Her mother rushed her to the healers after that and made sure she will never be hit like that again. The wound was healed quickly, no scar was left behind it so it did not ruin her soft creamy skin.

Erza nodded her head at Lisanna and said "You are right. It`s been a while since I have been there..."

"Well well... I never thought that a match like that would have happened in my arena" Mira said with her arms crossed over her chest, a satisfied smile appearing on her face. "It`s not every day you get to see or find a man, who can keep up with the warrior princess"

"If he can go head to head with you Erza. Then I just wonder what he would be like as a slave" Mira asked dreamily

Erza did not know why. But hearing Mira talk like that about Natsu made her frown. She could feel a slight pain in her chest, almost as if Mira`s words hurt her. She did not know why...

"He already is a slave Mira" Mira`s eyes lighten up at those words as well as Lisanna`s.

"He is! That`s great Erza! I will go down to the dungeons and make him start working for me this instant. I will have him fight in the arena every day and if he is a good boy, I will even put some extra food in his lunch from time to time" Mira said with a happy smile, Lisanna thought about the food part too and decided that if Natsu behaved that he will get some of her "special" cooking.

Erza`s eyes narrowed as her anger resurfaced, she did not know why she was feeling like this. But she was not going to let this demon steal her property, her mother said that Natsu is their slave. Meaning that he is HER slave.

"I am sorry Mira but he already has a master" Mira stopped in her tracks as she was going for the door to down into the dungeons.

"Really... And who is that Master Erza?" Mira asked with a raised eyebrow

"Me," Erza said with honesty and order as if challenging the other two to go against her word.

Mira ever so devious, let a grin come across her face as she sits back down by her friend's bedside. "Your`s... Why would you need a slave? You have too many maids and servants in that royal castle, what could you possibly need a slave for?"

"This one has taken my mother`s interest" Erza answered simply.

"He got the queen interest? Now how did he managed to do that?" Lisanna asked this time

Erza`s eyes widen and then set their gaze down at the bedsheets. Does she tell them that he knocked her out two times in one day or does she make something up...

NO!

She is the princess of Alvarez and she will not make an excuse in order to save her pride. After all these two are her friends, they will understand. Right?

"He... He knocked me out twice in one day" She told them and waited to see how they react.

...

The room was silent, just like the arena was. The two sisters looked at each other and then back at Erza. They did not know what to say or what to think. They saw how strong Natsu is, but to be able to knock out the princess of Alvarez two times in one day. That is unheard of.

"How did that happened?" Lisanna asked not believing her ears

"Because of her ignorance and irrational thinking" A voice came from the door of the infirmary making all the girls look towards it.

There stood the Irene holding a box in her hands. She walked inside the room and towards her daughter. Mira and Lisanna gut up from their chairs and got down to their knees, bowing down to their queen. Irene nodded her head at two sisters making them stand up.

"Hello, Mira, Lisanna how are you two?" Irene asked with a smile on her face

"We are doing great your highness" Lisanna answered with a smile of her own

"That is good to hear... Can you two give us some privacy? I would like to talk to my daughter alone" Irene said to the two sisters making them look at each other in confusion, before nodding and heading out of to the hallway.

Irene set down at the edge of the bed Erza was resting at, but not before putting down the box on top of the nightstand beside the bed.

"How are your injuries," Irene asked looking at Erza`s arms

"They will be fine once I go to healers" Irene nodded and placed her hand on top of Erza`s

"This is the first time in years, that I saw you injured" Irene caressed her daughter's hand "Is there anything I could do for you to help?"

Erza looked down at her mother`s hand caressing her`s, she moved her hand away earning a frown from her mother. She was not there for her when she was a child, why would she care for her now when she was almost an adult.

"You can... By telling me how the hell did he breathe fire."Erza said with narrowed eyes, telling her mother that there will now sidestepping her questions.

Irene sighed before moving her hands to rest on her lap, she closed her eyes to think for a few minutes then looked at Erza in the eyes.

"He breathes fire... Because he is a dragon slayer" Erza`s eyebrow raised at that.

"A dragon slayer?"

Irene nodded

"So... He slays dragons? And that`s why he can breathe fire?" Erza asked in confusion

"Hehehe... Well, that is what most people think when they hear about it. But no" Irene`s face becomes more serious "A dragon slayer is a type of person or a wizard who is trained in the arts of the lost magic. Dragon slayer magic"

Erza`s eyes widen at that. She has read about lost magic and how almost all of its kind was nearly extinct. Only a few are left in the world who knew lost magic, but Erza never meet anyone who can use it.

And she just fought against one of those people.

"Lost magic! You mean to tell me that what he did was lost magic?" Erza said not believing her mother`s words

"That is exactly what I`m saying Erza. The dragon slayer magic, in particular, uses elements like fire, lightning, air, even iron for their attacks and defenses. They can eat their elements if there are any in the area, to replenish their magical power and make them last longer in the fight"

Erza was shocked at this news. How the hell was that even fair?

"They also have enchanted sense. Like smell, hearing, sight and so on. Not to mention they are incredibly strong and durable. They can go on in a fight for as long as there is magic in their system. The stronger they become and more magic they have, the more they become like dragons."

"_That explains the scales..." _Erza thought to herself

"How do you know all this?" Erza asked her mother to which she grins

"How... Well my dear" Irene grin turned into a smile "I was the one who created it"

Erza`s eyes and mouth couldn't open wide enough to represent her shock. Her mother... Created the lost magic... The one that beat her ass not too long ago. And she did not teach it to her!

All those years of her studying requip magic... All those years ago, she could have learned how to be a dragon slayer...

WHY THE HELL DID SHE NOT TELL HER SOONER!

"WHY DID YOU NOT TEACH ME IT?!" Erza yelled not caring if the whole arena heard her.

Irene ever so calmly, put her pinky into her ear cleaning it from the ringing that was caused by her angry daughter.

"It`s not that I did not want to Erza. It`s more that I can`t... Not anymore" Erza waited for her to explain "Before your father died... He made me promise to him that I will never use that type of magic again. For it is too destructive and dangerous, so I swore upon his death to never use or teach it to anyone again..."

Erza nodded her head in understanding. Her mother made a promise to her father and she swore upon her honor to keep it. She can respect that from her, however, one thing was not clear to her.

"How does he know it then?" Erza asked, her mother sighs as she remembers what happened.

"Long ago when I was younger before you were born. I bend the elements into a living form, they could move, breath and talk just like can. Only one thing was different about them"

"They were all dragons"

Erza thought her eyeballs were going to pop out of her skull from how wide she has been spreading them today.

"They were all created from my desired element to bear the very existence of dragon slayer magic and so it was their duty to protect this magic, and never let it fall into the wrong hands."

"However I was naive to think that they would listen to me. They escaped my kingdom and vanished into the sky, never to be found again. However, it appears that one of them still remained here."

Irene smirked as she walked over to the nightstand and picked up the box before sitting back down at Erza`s bed.

"The dragon who thought our little Natsu how to use this lost magic is called Igneel. I called him the king of the fire dragons, for his flames, could burn through almost anything. However I am surprised by him getting a human apprentice, he was the most violent of them all. You will never find a being filled with rage and anger for us humans more then Igneel was."

Irene then opened the box and pulled out a metal collar and what looked like a stamper with a red dragon on the stamp. Erza looked closer at the collar and saw the same symbol of the dragon on the center of it that was on the stamp.

"This is a collar I created in order to catch those dragons in case they ever came back. It is infused with powerful magic canceling spell, no matter how much anyone tried to use their magic, they won`t be able to. If you pour some of your own magic into ti you can make it get smaller or bigger" Irene`s hands glowed red as the collar was got smaller, small enough to be a bracelet and the grew back to the collar size.

"It also possesses a powerful command spell. Meaning that if you have put it on someone and you have the stamp on you, he or she will have no choice but to follow your orders. If they try to defy you they will be punished for it." Irene explained to Erza as she put the items back into the box.

"What kind of punishment?" Erza asked in interest

"The collar will send a wave of the different element through the wearer's body. Specifically, an element that is stronger than their own, which in Natsu`s case is lightning. The lightning will flow through his entire body, causing him a huge amount of pain"

Erza bit her lower lip at that. She knew she should be thrilled that something like this will be able to hurt the one who caused her all this shame and pain. But after their fight today, she did not know why but for some reason.

She did not want to hurt him...

Erza felt a weight on her lap and saw the box that contained the items to controlling the mystical beasts. She looked back at her mother with a surprised look. Her mother took her hand into both of hers and proceeded to speak to her with determination.

"I want you to show Natsu his place. I want you to show him what happened when you disrespect the Belserion name, show him who is on top and who is at the bottom."

"Show him who is the mistress and who is the slave" With that Irene got up and left the room.

Erza set there for a minute thinking, about everything her mother has told her. She opened the box and pulled out the collar to marvel at its design. It was a pure silver steel collar with blood-red fire surrounding it and a dragon symbol on its front. Erza could feel the power that was within the collar, the power to tame a dragon.

Her mind went back and forth as she tried to make a decision about Natsu. She wanted to punish him and see him suffer, however, the other part of her did not want him to suffer too much. It was a weird war of back and forth.

In the end, her sense of revenge won over compassion and she stood up from the bad in order to make Natsu pay.

"_Hiss_" Erza hissed as her arms burned with pain.

Oh right... She still needed to go to the healers.

**About 2 hours later at arena dungeons:**

Erza walked through the hall now wearing her armor again, her steel boots echoing in a silent hall as she was making her way to a certain dragon slayer. When she arrived in front of his cell she saw Lisanna sitting in front of it with her legs crossed and her arms supporting her weight.

"_What is she doing?_" Erza thought with a raised eyebrow, the sense of irritation washed over her body.

Lisanna who seemed lost in thought while looking inside Natsu`s cage, as if feeling someone watching her turned her head to the right. She saw princess Erza standing there with an irritated look on her face.

Lisanna quickly jumped from her sitting position with a yelp, before getting to her knees and yelling apologies.

"It`s alright Lisanna... Does he have a match soon?" Erza asked the younger sister

"Huh?... Oh.. No, I was just checking if he was trying to escape or do something fishy with his magic" Lisanna answered with a little bit of blush on her cheeks.

"_Sure you did..._" Erza thought with narrowed eyes "Very well. You are dismissed"

Lisanna blinked at her in confusion "Pardon?"

"You heard me" Erza simply said to the younger woman

"With all due respect Erza" she begins but was cut off by a redhead

"I don`t care if it's your job or not to watch over him. I am here now so I will watch over what he dose. Now as I said... You are DISMISSED!" Erza told her with a yell at the end of her speech.

Lisanna with tears in her eyes turned her back to Erza and run down the dark hallway and towards the stairs that lead to her sister`s room.

Erza sighs as she watched the younger woman run away, knowing she will have to apologies to her.

But now she had more important matters at hand. She pulls out a stamp that came with the collar and stamped the symbol on top of her hand. It glowed bright red before dying down to its normal color.

She looked inside Natsu`s cell and caught the sight of onyx eyes with hers. Her breath got caught up in her throat as he looked at her before closing his eyes.

An iron muffler around his mouth this time.

Erza takes out the key to his cell and unlocked the door. She slowly steps inside, there were no guards around and no interruptions. She only had one shot at this she needed to make it count.

Natsu watched as Erza came closer and closer to him, he decided to stand up after she crossed half of the cell and looked into her eyes as they stood face to face. She raised her hand up towards his face, on instinct he grabbed both of her wrists stopping them from moving any closer.

He stared into those pools of brown orbs, he felt no struggle from her as her wrists were being held, no anger or fury could be seen in her brown eyes. The only thing he saw in front of him was a beautiful woman, with a sad look in her eyes.

He knew that look all too well. He had that look for 2 years now... Ever since Igneel disappeared on him, he did not feel relief, happiness or peace. But looking into this woman`s eyes, something told him he can let go.

His hands slowly let go of her wrists. Erza was shocked at the emotional look in his eyes but hide it the best she could. She took off her gauntlets, throw them on the ground and then placed both of her hands on either side of his cheek.

"_He is so... warm..._" Erza thought while her right thumb caressed his cheek, she let the smile slip as she saw him close his eyes and nuzzle against her hand.

"_Now that I get a closer look at him... He is actually pretty cu_-" Erza stopped what she was doing as she almost thought something she will regret later. She looked back at Natsu and saw him still nuzzling her hand.

She needed to work fast. A bright flash of light appeared from her left hand, making Natsu`s eyes narrow while closed. And before he could open them something slammed into his neck making him recoil from the princess.

A metallic "click" was heard as he was coughing from a sudden pain in his neck. Not even noticing what just happened. He felt around his neck and felt steel, he felt it with both hands before starting to pull on it, trying to rip it off him.

It did not budge.

He tried to set himself on fire but to his surprise, nothing happened. He panted as he tried to rip the darn thing off him.

"Hmhmhm" He heard a sweet evil chuckle from his side as he looked at the person responsible for this. Erza stood there with her hand behind her back with a victorious grin on her face.

"Well, then little dragon... You got something to say?" She asked as she took a hold of the iron muffler before ripping it off his face. He took a couple of breaths to control his breathing, his right arm on the ground where he was down on one knee, while the left one was still on the collar.

"What did you do? What is this?" He asked as hid body felt really weak and his anger was rising.

"Well, why don`t you come over here and find out," Erza told him as she leans on the bars of his cell and tossed him the key for his shackles.

This woman... Was she toying with him... This woman... The woman he thought HE COULD THRUST!

Letting out a roar of anger, he charged at her, ripping the chains that were holding him apart. His rage and adrenalin were pumping his muscles, his magic may be gone but he still had his body to fight on.

Erza seeing him break from his bondings, just stood there with her eyes closed. When he was about to reach her she gave out her command.

"Bow down to your mistress," She said in a commanding voice

Natsu keeps on charging but really soon he begins to slow down until he did not come to the complete stop. His body was shaking as his face was a mixture of pain and anger. He took another step toward her.

And that`s when it happened.

Lightning surrounded Natsu`s body as he screamed in pain. He was still standing even though mind-numbing pain was running through his body.

Erza watched him cry in pain with an emotionless face, unaware that something from inside of her was crying for Natsu to just bend the knee. After few more minutes Natsu give up and fell to his knees.

He was panting hard, he couldn`t feel his body and in his mind, his world was spinning. He opened his heavy eyes and with a blurry vision looked at the metal boots that were now standing in front of him.

Finally, his mind give up as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His body falling to the side from his kneeling position and toward the hard floor. However before he hit it, two cold arms caught him and brought him into another metal surface, on which he laid his head-on.

"Good boy..." He heard someone say as his world went black.

**Author`s note: This one was much better to write than the last one. I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do too.**

**See ya guys.**


	5. I choose you

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: (**_**Me walking into my room, all happy that I am on my vacation. I turn on my PC and get on League of legends).**_

_**5 days later…**_

_**(Still on my PC playing when suddenly something hits me in the back of my head)**_

"_**Owwww…" I rub the sore spot "WHAT THE HELL!"**_

_**I turn around to see my other self glaring at me.**_

"_**You lazy idiot. Are you not forgetting something?" He asked angerly**_

_**I look at him confused before saying "No…"**_

"_**BAM"**_

_**A Frying pan to the head.**_

"_**YOU BAKA! DON`T YOU HAVE A STORY TO WRITE, YOU DAMN MONGROLE!"**_

_**Oh Yeah… Hehe XD**_

**No, but for real sorry, it took me so long to get another chapter out. I just got a two weeks vacation from my work and I want to enjoy it to the fullest. Been also grinding some league and Tekken, so time just flew by.**

**I hope you guys are not mad at me for being a baka that I am.**

**Enough talk. Enjoy.**

Chapter 5

I choose you

The door of Erza`s room opened with her coming inside. She had a smile on her face with a victorious spark in her eyes. She now had control over a fire dragon slayer, over a man who managed to fight with her and even beat her. She watched him struggle in pain as he tried to attack her only to submit to her orders and bow down to her. Just like he is supposed to do.

However, this feeling in her gut did not sit well with Erza. This feeling that she just couldn`t shake off. As if it was telling her that she did something wrong, something she should not have done.

She ignored it and requipped into her nightgown. It was now night time and she was exhausted after these past two days. She was about to get under her covers when the door opened behind her.

She quickly turned around with a sword already lunched from her hand and towards the one who opened it. That poor soul was Lucy who opened the door to quickly and did not know that the princess was there. Her life flashed before her eyes as the sword flow towards her, a single tear left her right eye before closing both of them, not gonna even try to dodge.

She waite… B ut it never came.

She opened one eye to see that the sword has stopped right in front of her. The tip of it almost touching her forehead. The sword was pulled back by magic to Erza`s side as it disappeared in a bright light.

"Sorry about that Lucy. You can never let your guard down, no matter where you are" she told Lucy in an icy voice.

Lucy just laughed nervously and told her its okay. Erza set down at the edge of her bed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well. Did you need something?"

Lucy`s widen in realization as she remembers why she came here.

"Ah yes… Pardon my disturbance my lady, but the queen wanted me to tell you, that she would like to speak with you right now."

"_God, what does she want now…"_ Erza thought as she let out a tired sigh. The bright light appeared again as her adamantine armor (this time with the helmet) appeared around her. She walked by Lucy and towards the throne room.

"_Gezz... A thank you wouldn`t hurt you, you know." _Lucy thought as she watched the princess disappear around the corner.

**In the throne room:**

Irene was sitting on her throne with a message scroll in her hands. She was reading it over again for what felt like a thousand time checking if it was not her eyes playing tricks on her. A smile placed upon her lips did not grow nor fall, it was a perfect show of satisfaction. The sound of the door being opened made her break out of her thoughtfulness.

Erza walked inside with an unpleased look on her face. She bowed down to her like a knight in front of their king.

"Rise Erza" Erza did as told "I have very pleasant news"

Erza raised an eyebrow at her mother`s happy tone. She knew she only got like that when she was either getting what she wants or when something that could benefit her appears.

"I only hope it`s worth enough for me to come here at this time," Erza told Irene. Her mother ignored her and tossed her the message scroll. Erza read through it before looking at her mother as if she has grown a second head.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!" Angry shout from the warrior princess made the guards inside the room jump as Erza tossed the scroll away "A TOURNAMENT TO DECIDE THE BRIDE FOR PRINCE JELLAL OF FIORE KINGDOM. ALL FEMALE PRINCESSES ARE TO ENTER!"

Irene kept a calm face throughout Erza`s shouting, waiting for the raging fire that is her daughter to settle down.

"WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS TH-"

"THAT`S ENOUGH!" Irene yelled out stopping Erza`s rent and surprising the guards. They never heard the queen yell at her daughter.

Irene took a breath to calm down before explaining to Erza her plan.

"Erza... once again you fail to see the bigger picture" Erza`s face turned into one of confusion "You see. This is a great chance to show the other kingdom who is the dominant one"

"To show who you are and to let your name be heard beyond the walls of Alvarez. For your glory and status to reach even bigger heights. Don`t you want that?"

Erza was about to reply but closed her mouth as thought about it. She did not want to be someone`s who she did not know wife, but having people of Fiore acknowledge her strength would be a good thing for her. With Fiore being one of the most respected kingdoms in the world, making a stand there would help her image greatly.

"I will say, mother... That does sound very promising. However, I will not become anyone's wife"

Irene sighed at her daughter`s stubbornness and decided to let her be. She did not want another argument in the middle of the night.

"Very well my dear... Do as you wish" Irene said with a wave of her hand

"Then I will accept this invitation and I will make our kingdom and our name proud," Erza said as she picked up the scroll and was about to walk out from the throne room.

"Oh, fufu... It seems like your temper got the best of you before you read the whole thing" Erza stopped in front of the door and looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow. "It`s not the princesses that will be fighting in the tournament."

Irene got up from her throne and begin to walk to the door that was on the left side of the room.

"It`s their male champions." With that Irene disappeared behind the doors of her room.

...

...

...

Erza stood there in the silence of the room. Guards sweating in fear at the murderous intent that Erza was radiating. Her shoulders shook in anger, her helmet shadowed her face as her teeth grind against each other.

"SLAM!"

A loud bang was heard through the silenced room as Erza rushed through the doors and to her room.

Once there she slammed her own doors and released an angry roar. She threw her armguards, gauntlets, and shoulder pads off in her rage as she pushed some of the items off her table. She slammed her fists against the table as her rage begin to calm down. Thankfully the table did not break under her fists and allowed her to lean on it as she set down in the chair.

"What am I going to do..." She said to no one in particular as she ran her hands over her face "Why. Why do I need a champion..."

She did not know what to think. It was like her mother just baited her into this. She knew Erza was not that much of a social person, much less a man lover. But to get a male champion to fight for her.

That is close to impossible for her.

Every man in her kingdom is afraid of her. Not only that she personally told them when she was talking to her kingdom on top of her castle balcony, that if any one of them even thinks about coming onto her. They will no longer be able to have kids.

And ever since then not even one of them looked her way.

She sighed, knowing that this was impossible. She will just go to her mother in the morning and tell her that can not do it. She reaches out with her in order to pick up the scroll she tossed away with her armor. But stopped once she saw something red on her right shoulder.

It was a red dragon stamp.

Her eyes opened wide as she looked at it. Her brain working over this new realization as she ran her hand over the stamp.

She did know a man who looks her way, who even fought her and injured her, not only that he even talked back at her.

And this man...

Was...

Under her...

Will...

A feral grin came onto her face. She picked up the scroll and the thrown parts of her armor before heading towards the arena.

Time to pay a visit to the dragon.

**In arena ****dungeons:**

Erza walked alone in torch lighted halls of arena dungeons. Her armor making noise while she walked down the cobblestone floor, making her way to the one prisoner that will help her in her mission. When she arrived at his cell, he was already fast asleep snoring away at anything that could bother him. He was leaning on the wall with his back, making him look like he fell asleep while sitting up.

Erza picked up a rock from the ground and thew it at Natsu`s head. It hit but he just kept on snoring.

She threw another.

and another.

and another one.

A thick mark appeared on her forehead as she threw a larger rock at him.

That did the trick and he woke up with a loud "OUCH". When he looked up at her his face changed from anger to irritation as he leaned back to the wall.

"Oh great, what do you want now. Came to make sure I do not get any sleep?" He asked with his arms crossed over his chest

"I Erza "Scarlet" Belserion claim you as my champion Natsu Dragneel," She said in a serious and commanding tone

"Huh?" Was Natus reply

Erza ignored him and continued talking "and as my champion, you will conquer all enemies that stand between me and my goal. You fight, you will bleed and you will sweat until my ambition has become a reality and all know my name"

Natsu blinked at her, not believing what he was hearing. Erza smiled as she watched Natsu`s dumbfound expression with a grin on her face. She thought she finally made him speechless, that he was so filled with shock that he couldn`t say anything. Oh how it felt good to shut him up.

"No."

...

"WHAT!"

**Author`s note: Sorry if it`s short. I am a lazy man.**

**Follow**

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**Review**

**The next one will be longer I promise.**

**Take care guys, see ya.**


	6. Making a deal

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: **_**I wake up from my slumber and sit upon my bed. I let out a yawn before smiling.**_

"_**Man I am so glad I don`t have to work until 17. January. Hahaha," I say with glee as I pick up my phone and look at the time and date.**_

_**...**_

_**...**_

"_**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" A loud shout was heard throughout my house.**_

_**Yep, it`s a dreadful day when you wake up to realize your vacation is over.**_

_**And that you`re late for work.**_

**Welp, I am back in my seat here in the company, so expect faster updates. Usually, I write them during my job because I finish all the work that I am needed to do, before the end of the shift and I have a lot of spare time.**

**Also, my vacation went great. Thanks for asking.**

**Okay enough of talking from me, you came here to read not to listing to me talking pointless things.**

**So Enjoy.**

**Chapter 6**

**Making a deal**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO!" Erza shouted at the chained up dragon slayer who has laid back down on the cold cobblestone ground. Her hands gripped the bars of his cell tightly in anger.

"I won`t do what you tell me to do" He simply said with his eyes closed and his hand behind his head like a makeshift pillow.

"I am the strongest knight here and the princess of Alvarez. How dare you -"

"Don`t care." Came a replay from Natsu

Erza was silent. For a god knows how many times was she rendered speechless in these past two days. She could not believe the guts of this man. Would he rather suffer than have the honor to fight in the name of a person like her? Anyone would have jumped at such an opportunity, but this guy no.

This guy does not care. He simply does not care.

"You know you don`t have a choice at that matter," Erza said with a smirk "For I hold your fate in my hand's little dragon, it would not be wise to disobey me."

She watched him slowly sit up from his laying position and lock eyes with him the moment he lifted up his head to look at her. They stared each other down, both of them not letting go of their resolve.

After a few seconds, the words came from the dragonslayer.

"Do your worst princess"

Erza was taken aback by a coldness in his voice. But shook that feeling away before Natsu could notice. She forced her magic through the stamp on her right shoulder making it glow bright red, at the same time the collar around Natsu`s neck begins to glow the same color.

"By my words. You will fight in my name, bleed for my honor and die for my goal. Now became my champion" Erza ordered her command.

Natsu set there in silence, feeling small sparks already tingling at his body from the inside. A sensation that sent a shiver down his spine as he knew that the pain will hit him as soon as he spoke.

But he did not care.

"Screw yo- AHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGG!" He roared out in pain and fell back down on his back with yellow lightning surrounding his body. Erza watched him scream in pain as his body was twitching in agony. Her smirk all the while.

But very slowly that smirk left her face and concern replaced it. She bit down lightly on her lower lip as the screaming continued. After 5 minutes which for Natsu felt like hours, the lighting disappeared from around his body and left him in still present pain.

He was breathing heavily, sweat was covering his whole body as cold cobblestone floor sent a shiver down his warm and still hurting back. He was surprised that he did not pass out.

Erza stopped forcing magic into her dragon stamp, making the collar around his neck stop glowing and lighting to vanish around him. She shook her head from side to side in order to get rid of the guilt that she was feeling.

"I see you`re still conscious, I am amazed truly." Erza said in impressed tone "Now then as I was saying-"

"Oh shut up..." a weak voice but still filled with coldness spoke back at her.

Erza`s eyes widen at the sight of Natsu sitting back up, before getting on one knee. His body shook in agony, his breathing heavy, his mind almost completely shut down but he still manages to rise a little.

"You... (_huff, huff_) think...(_huff_) you can...(_huff_) just order me around, like I am but a tool. (_huff, huff_) You think that... (_huff, huff_) I will just put my head down and sub come to your will...(huff, huff) like I`m some kind of dog" He said with head down

"Well... You got another thing coming princess" He raised his head to look at her with his onyx eyes burning with determination "I will get out of here and continue my journey to find my father... No matter how much pain I have to endure, no matter how many times I will have to fight, I will find him and there is nothing you or your kingdom can do to stop me."

...

Erza was... More or less surprised by this newfound resolve from Natsu. She felt a wave of inspiration fill up her body as she listens to him. This man... all he wanted to do, was to find his father... She did not know why but the way he talked, the way his eyes looked at her and the way his body was still holding up, even after 5 minutes of lighting going through it he was still getting up.

It reminded her of someone... But she couldn`t remember who. She put her hand under her chin and begin to think. He obviously will not give in to her will, nor will he agree if she continued punishing him and if she continued to punish him, she would most likely kill him.

And she didn`t want to kill him just yet.

So if brute force won`t work and torture won`t work. What other way is there?

...

...

(_DING! A light bulb popped above Erza`s head)_

She could trick Natsu into thinking she knows where Igneel is, and by that he will win the tournament for her and another step to her dream will be taken. Her status, name, and strength will be known throughout the entire kingdom of Fiore.

Erza grinned as she sets her plan into motion. She unlocks the cell doors and walked towards still kneeling Natsu, she now stood above his kneeling position looking down at him as if he was an inferior creature.

"Alright little dragon, how about we make a deal?" This made Natsu raise his eyebrow in question "If you become my champion and win this tournament for me. I`ll set you free and even tell you where you can find your father."

Natsu`s eyes widen at the proposal and was about to agree with her but stopped as he realized that she might be tricking him. He let out a growl as an angry frown appeared on his face.

"Don`t you mess with me... You don`t know a thing about me. So what could you possibly know about my father?" Natsu said in an angry tone

Erza stood silently for a second before answering "I know that you can use fire dragonslayer magic, I know that you were trained by a dragon and that that dragon is the king of all fire dragons Igneel."

Her words shocked Natsu, for they were all true. His father Igneel was a fire dragon king and he was a true dragon. Nobody knew about it for Natsu does not have many friends, nor did he have time to explain to people who were trying to help him. He was always on the move in his search. He fell on his ass with his hands in his lap.

"How... How do you know that?" He asked

"My mother. She is the one who invented the dragonslayer magic" This made Natsu even more shocked "She is also the one who created your father and the other elemental dragons like him."

Natsu was silent for a few seconds trying to wrap his head around what he just found out. After a minute of silence, he came up with his next question.

"Sooo... She created Igneel?"

"Yes."

"So... He is like her son?"

"... I guess you can look at it that way"

"And I am Igneel, son..."

"Yes?..."

"Doesn't that mean that she is like... my grandmother?"

...

...

"Which makes you my-?"

"SHUT UP!" Erza yelled at Natsu making him jump slightly from the loud sound "Listen I am offering you my help which is something I rarely ever do, now do you accept?"

Natsu thought about it for a few minutes before asking Erza "What`s in it for you?"

"I get to take one step closer to achieving my dream," Erza said, her eyes beginning to have a faraway look "I want the world to know my name, to respect it, fear it, worship it. I want the world to know that men are not the only ones who are strong and are able to protect. And after that I want my name to be heard even further, far away even beyond the heavens."

She puts her right fist over her hearth and stood with her head held high.

"That is my dream."

...

"That`s stupid"

"WAHHH!" Erza yelled as she fell back in shock. She quickly got back up and put her hands on her armored hips and yelled angrily at Natsu. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT`S STUPID!"

Natsu put his pinky in his right ear to stop the ringing from Erza`s voice. "Jeez woman, lower your volume there are people still sleeping here. It`s stupid because there is no meaning to it." He said making Erza give him a confused look.

"Are you stu-" Erza tried to say but he interrupted her

"What I mean to say by that, is that there is no real point to it. All you are doing is for your own gain and not for anyone else's" He crossed his legs into a lotus position and his arms over his chest. "Like you`re a princess right? Don`t you want your goal to be something like, make your people feel safer or destroy all possible monsters around your kingdom in case they become a threat, or make your mother proud of her daughter."

At the last mention, Erza`s head fell, her eyes finding a floor to be the most interesting thing in the room. It has been a long time since she gave up on trying to impress her mother, that was once her goal and now it was but a hollow memory. Her mother showed her what kind of person she truly is and she will not give her a second chance to redeem herself.

"My dream is mine and mine alone. That is all you need to know little dragon" She said with bearly any emotions. Natsu took notice of this, he noticed that Erza did not like to talk about her mother. For reasons, he did not know but for some reason when he sees her like this, he can`t help but feel sorry for her. Of course, he was not going to show it, but he still felt sorry for her.

After another moment of silence, Natsu let out a sigh as he made his decision. Healed from the pain in his body thanks to his magic, he stood up from the ground so that he was eye level with Erza. He rolled his shoulder`s and neck, feeling and hearing a satisfied "_CRACK" _sounds as he stretched his tired limbs.

Erza once again as he was stretching got a glimpse of his perfect six-pack and muscular chest. Her cheeks became hot as she blushed from looking at his body.

"_He has such a perfect body, almost as if it was carved by gods them-" _She stopped thought from finishing with a quicky shake with her head. Natsu`s eyes once again locked with her`s when he stopped stretching his tired limbs.

"Okay..."

...

"What?" Erza asked, not believing what she heard

"I said alright... I`ll be your champion" Natsu said not excited about this at all "But on a condition that you lead me to Igneel and you let me eat as much food as I want, are we clear?"

Erza thought about it before shrugging, not seeing the food as a big deal "_Whatever, it`s not like he will eat the whole kitchen dry." _She thought without care. "Alright."

This poor naive girl.

Erza smiled as she took a step back and extended her hand to him with the back of it facing him. "Then upon this hand, sware your loyalty and I should uphold our deal."

Natsu walked closer and kneeled down taking her hand into both of his. He removed her gauntlet and embraced the soft, creamy skinned hand with both of his rough ones. Erza blushed at the warmness of his hands around her own, once again forcing her to hide her blush from him. He placed his head on the back of her hand and started his vow.

"Pain..." Erza heard him say, her eyes going back to him. He has bowed down to her now, his hair shadowing his eyes.

"Agony" He continued

"Your wrath burns through the mountains" She felt his hands becoming warmer "The kingdoms quake beneath your feet"

"Now... I take a vow that I will carry out your ambition and if anyone dares to oppose me..." Natsu slowly begins to raise his head "The whole of our enemies will break"

Erza and Natsu locked eyes again, both holding each other gaze as Natsu finished.

"And all will burn beneath the shadow of my flames..."

With that, the deal is sealed. The princess and her champion have begun their journey.

**Author`s note: Here you are boys and girls. I hope you liked it. These last seven sentences are a reference, have fun finding out where it is from.**

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**See ya.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: Here is another one. Expect one more by the end of the week.**

**And yes that reference is from Deathwing.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 7

Arrival and meeting at the kingdom of Fiore

"Is this really necessary?" Natsu asked Erza as they stood in front of the royal carriage. Sure he got mad when Erza kicked him out of his cell the next morning, then had her servants wash off all the dirt and grime from his body while telling him he stank the whole trip there. She barked orders as soon as they got to the bathhouse, telling all servants there to wash him up and give him a new set of clothes.

After Natsu had his shower, he was given his new clothes that consisted of sleeveless scarlet vest with golden outlines, pants that are much like his previous ones except they were black instead of white and a pair of black combat boots. Natsu was surprised that all of his new clothes fit him perfectly, not to mention how comfy he felt in them.

His next destination was an infirmary, the doctor there checked him all over his body to see if he is healthy. After a few minutes of checking him and then commenting on his incredibly muscular body, which for some reason irritated Erza. He was told that he was perfectly fine.

Next Erza wanted to get Natsu an armor to represent her country and her family. Natsu, however, did not want any armor, saying that it will slow him down. Although at first, Erza insisted that they do get one for him, she ultimately gave up as their argument was becoming more and more like childish arguing.

Lunchtime came and both of them went to the dining room, with Erza in the lead since Natsu does not know his way around the castle. They entered into the room and saw no one there but a few guards who bowed to Erza and then gave Natsu a glare. Which he returned with a feral grin, scaring them shitless as memory of him beating some of their best guards returned to them.

But he wasted little time as he took a seat at the table and begin to pour himself a soup that was already served at the table. Erza watched him from the other side of the table as he poured the soup into a bowl. But was enraged when he instead of using utilities for eating, he just grabbed a bowl with both hands and lifted it up to his mouth practically drinking the soup.

She ordered him to stop doing that, but he just kept going like that until he wasn`t on his fifth bowl. That`s when she had enough and activated the stamp, shocking him as he ate making the soup fall from his hands and on to the floor.

When he wanted an explanation for it, she told him to eat with manners. To which Natsu just raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked.

"What are those?"

Which made guards burst out in laughter at the dragonslayer's stupidity. They were about to comment on something about him when glare from Erza shut them up.

Erza realized that Natsu did not know how to eat with the silverware, nor did he know what manners are. So she spent almost all of her morning, teaching Natsu how to use the silverware and what manners he needs to have when talking to people, at the table, how to address someone and the gestures to use in front of the royalty.

Needless to say...

That did not go so well. The only thing Natsu was able to remember to do, was how to use a fork, spoon, and knife for eating. After that, he pretty much fell asleep as she was explaining about manners. Which earned him a hit on the back of his head.

Erza gave up on him after that and went back to eating her food. However, she was missing the warmth that he was giving off. It was like standing beside a campfire, it was a nice, calming and safe feeling that just made her want to be near him. She pushed that feeling away, thinking that it was her just being frustrated this morning.

And now in the high noon, they were standing in front of the royal carriage, which will take them to the kingdom of Fiore. However, Natsu did not look too excited about riding in it.

"Yes, it is. How else would we get there?" Erza asked with her back to him as she was putting her bags into the cart. Since they will be there until the end, she has prepared an extra set of everything that she might need armors, weapons, sweets, and etc.

"Well... By walking" Natsu jumped slightly when Erza`s head spun around so fast to look at him, he thought that she had broken her neck.

"WALKING!" she yelled at him before walking over and shaking him by his vest "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE US TO REACH FIORE? IT WILL TAKE US A WEEK TO GET THERE!"

"Really?" He asked back innocently

"YES!" She shouted in his face "SO STOP SAYING SUCH A STUPID SHIT!" she let go of him and angrily got back to packing her stuff.

"It did not seem like a that long of a walk to me" he mumbled under his breath as he watched her pack. After half an hour Erza finally finished her packing and entered into the carriage, she waited for Natsu to walk inside as well but he was not coming in.

With a frustrating sigh, she looked outside of the carriage and saw him just standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, a frown over his face.

"Well?" She yelled at him

"Ouch geez woman... I have an enchanted hearing, I can hear you just fine without shouting" He said while rubbing his ears.

"I don`t care. Get your ass inside now!" She said in a commanding tone as she wanted to get a move on as soon as possible.

Natsu took a look at the carriage with an uncertain gaze, as that uncertainty slowly turned into fear. His world started spinning at the thought of what he will have to endure in order to get to Fiore. Erza saw a look of fear in his eyes and took advantage of the opportunity to tease him.

"Ooohhh what`s the matter? Is a little dragon scared of a little ride?" She said mockingly, succeeding in making Natsu blush and an angry expression on his face.

"Me? Scared? NEVER!" He told her before crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from her

"I just get..." he mumbled under his breath

"What was that?" Erza asked not really hearing the last part

"I said... I get... Motion sick." He said slowly with a blush on his face. Erza just stood there, processing what he just said before exploding in a fit of laughter.

"Hey! It`s not funny" Natsu yelled at the laughing Titania

"It... Hahaha... Kinda... Hahaha... Is." She managed to say through her laughter

"To think that a man HAHAHA. Who not only fought off the members of my brigade but also managed to beat me, has such a weakness HAHAHAHA." She continued to laugh at him, making a tick mark appeared on Natus`s forehead.

"Shut up! It`s not my fault I get sick on this kind of thing" He yelled at her which got her to stop with her laughter and stand up looking now serious as always.

She grabbed him by her collar and roughly yanked him forward, coming so close to each other that their noses were almost touching.

"Listen here you maggot. Don`t you forget who you are talking to and don`t you DARE say to me to shut up ever again!" their eyes locked in a dangerous stare down as their noses were now touching one another.

"Is that clear?" her hot breath kissed Natsu`s face as he narrows his eyes at her before saying.

"Clear"

"Good boy" he growled at her as she let go of him and walked back into the carriage.

Natsu was once again left alone to confront the torture that he knew now was inevitable. He let out a sigh and run a hand through his hair before saying to himself.

"What have I gotten myself into" then he finally got into the carriage (_**I think that you all know what a carriage is. If not google it and then let your mind run wild) **_and set down at the bench opposite to one Erza was sitting at.

"Go," Erza ordered the raider as he gets the horse`s moving. The moment they started moving Natsu`s stomach starts to spin and his face becomes green. He starts to groan and moan in pain as he curls into a ball on the bench.

Erza sweatdropped at the sight as they drive through the town. She waves at the cheering people with a smile, the crowd followed the carriage all the way to the kingdom gates their cheering roars never stoping, not helping Natsu`s case at all as his sensitive ears started to hurt as well. When they reached the kingdoms gates, the queen Irene was there waiting on her horse. The raider stopped the carriage in front of her and bowed to her.

Irene moved her horse to stand beside one of the windows of the carriage in order to look at her daughter.

"Good luck to you my dear." She says with a smile "I have absolute fate that you will win" Erza nodded in agreement. Irene then looked across from her daughter and found Natsu curled up in a ball. She frowns at dragonslayer`s pain, knowing what it was causing it, even if they stopped moving the pain still stayed for a while.

"Don`t make him suffer too much Erza. You need him to be in good condition for the fights" Irene told her as Natsu let out a groan in pain. Erza looked to Natsu and then back at Irene before asking.

"What could I possibly do to make him better?" Erza while rudely pointing at Natsu.

Irene just smiled before moving away from them "You will know". With that, the queen rode off, back to her castle.

Erza puzzled by her mother`s words looked over at the dragonslayer who was starting to look normal again. Only for them to start moving, forcing him back into his previous position. Erza just decided to watch him as his breaths were getting heavier and his arms tighten around his hurting stomack.

The rocking of the carriage became more and quicker, making it very hard for Natsu not to vomit. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together trying to fight through the pain. Erza saw this and felt conflicted to do something.

The words of her mother rang in her head, she wanted him to suffer but not to the point where he will not be in a condition to fight for her. So she started to think about what could help him. All the ideas that came to her involved something from her case`s at the back of the carriage. But she did not want to stop moving for it`s a 4 days ride from Alvarez to Fiore and she wanted to get there as soon as possible.

A thought of just throwing his head out the window came to mind, but then again there is a danger that that could just make things more worst. Her mind worked hard as Natsu`s moans of pain rang through the carriage.

Finally, she got an idea. A pillow would be perfect for this situation. It would stop the rocking of his head and stop the dizziness that he was probably having. The only problem was that she had all of her extra pillows in back with all the other cases. And she only had armor`s and weapons in her pocket dimension, so she was left without that option.

She sighed as Natsu started to shake in pain. She really needed to help him somehow if she did not want to look like a fool in front of the face of the other kingdom. She put her right arm on her chin and set her right elbow on her knee. Her gaze moved to the floor to look at her feet, thinking that there has to be a way to make him stop feeling pain.

Her hands moved to her lap as she leaned back to the wall with a sigh. This was really difficult for her, she had no idea what to do. Then her eyes widen as an idea came to her mind, she looked down at her lap and looked at Natsu shyly.

The thought was for him to use her lap as a pillow. Erza shook her head with a blush appearing on her cheeks. She couldn`t believe what she was thinking, to allow a slave such as him to use her lap as a pillow it's below her. She will not do it. NO WAY!.

But another ground from Natsu slowly broke her defiance, so with a heavy sigh, she got up and moved to the bench that Natsu was sitting at. She used her magic to requip out of her steel leggings and boots, into a more comfortable royal blue skirt and black boots.

She carefully moved Natsu`s head to her lap right onto her thighs, all while thinking if he vomits on her that he will not live another day. The changes were almost instant his face slowly went back to his normal color, the pained expression on his face morphed into the one of relief as his arms loosen their hold on his stomach.

On Natsu`s part, he did not know what was happening. A few minutes ago he was begging gods to end him, and then the next moment there is no pain, only the feeling of sleepiness. Under the back of his head, he felt something warm and soft almost like a pillow, but it was more comfortable and it felt like it was made for him.

He turned to his side snuggling even more into it with a smile as a peaceful sleep took him.

For Erza the moment he turned to his side, where his face was facing her private parts. She wanted to yell and hit him for trying to do something indecent to her. But stopped herself when she saw the smile on his face, for whatever reason she did not know. But that smile ignited a warm feeling in her cold heart, a feeling she was unfamiliar with.

She slowly lowered her left hand down to his hair and begin to stroke his hair, wanting to feel what it's like she dispells her gauntlets, leaving her hands bare to the world. To her surprise, his hair was not rough or hard, but rather soft and gentle like it was made to be caressed. A smile slowly spread onto her lips as she watched him snuggle more into her thighs, like some kind of adorable puppy.

Her eyes begin to shut as well and soon both of them fell into a peaceful slumber.

**(4 days later)**

**(A/N: I am a lazy pig okay. I don`t want to describe what happened every day. So here is a quick summary for you all. They continue to move, they stop to rest, eat, drink and do the bathroom needs. Throughout the journey Erza lets Natsu sleep on her lap and he never noticed it because she pushes him off every time when they arrive at a resting place. There now let`s move on.)**

**In front of the gates of Fiore kingdom:**

Erza did not expect for the gates of the Fiore to be so big. She thought that this kingdom will be in all honesty, less advanced than her own. But the gates were as equally as big as Alvarez`s, made out of white stone with golden engravings that looked like a fairy with a tail.

The guards at the gates stopped the carriage and asked what`s their business here. They answered.

"This is the carriage of princess Erza Belserion of Alvarez kingdom. She and her chosen champion have come to participate in a tournament" their raider said to the guards.

They moved through the town with Erza watching the citizens of the kingdom go about their day and Natsu peacefully sleeping in her lap.

They arrived in front of the castle where a large set of stairs lead up to its main gates. The carriage stopped in front of the stairs meaning that they had to get out. She looked down at Natsu who was smiling in his sleep, she ran her hand through his hair one last time before shoving him off her.

He fell down with a loud "THUD" and let out an "OUCH!" as he rubbed shoulder he fell on.

"Do you really have to do that every time we stop?" He said in a monotone voice

"It`s the only way I know you will get up," She said while exiting the carriage, reqquiping her leggings, boots, and gauntlets back on.

"Still would it hurt you to try a nicer approach" he started to fix his hair into his usual hairstyle

Erza ignored him and looked around, every citizen near them was looking at her. Some were looking in wonder, some with interest and others (mostly man) with lustful eyes. She gave them a glare that would freeze even the hell over, making them cower in fear.

Natsu came out as well with his hair now back to normal. He took in a deep breath of air smelling deserts and food nearby which made his mouth water from the delicious scent. He let out a whistle as he looked up at the beautiful white castle decorated with golden engravings.

"Woooooowww... Nice place. Way better then your`s I bet" Natsu said with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Erza was about to remind him of who she is but another whistling sound made her look over her shoulder. Standing behind not too far away from her, was a group of women in their 20 to 25. They appear to be staring at something with a smile on their face and lust in their eyes.

She followed their gaze and found out what they were steering at.

Natsu`s butt.

She found herself steering at it for a few seconds before snapping out of her trance-like state. She sent a glare and a growl at the group of woman making them back off in fear before taking Natsu by the arm and marching up the stairs.

"If you ever need me again, you can find me on the south side of the kingdom" The raider shouted to them before leaving with the carriage, never getting a reply from Erza.

Erza did not know why she was angry at those girls, she only knew that it angered her so. She ignores Natsu's words, which were probably along the lines like "Let me go you mad woman" or something similar. They entered the castle with help from one of the guards who were guarding the entrance to the castle.

They walked down the white and golden halls, passing many pictures of the royal families and nobles, war heroes and generals. They made it in front of the room gates and waited for the guard to go in and see if the king and prince are busy. He signaled them to come in a few seconds later.

The throne room was the same as all of the castle white with golden engravings of a fairy with a tail, it had a long table in the center of the room with ten chairs on each side. Away from the table where two thrones one was a bigger one decorated with gold and diamonds, while the smaller one was made of silver and decorated with emeralds. On the bigger throne set a man with a blue beard and blue hair, with black eyes. He was wearing a silver chest plate with marching armguards, leggings, and boots. Underneath the chest plate, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt that looked good on him, all while his shoulder`s carried a royal blue coat with fur around the collar.

Erza taking that he was a king, stepped forward at a quicker pace then Natsu and bowed down to him before saying.

"Your majesty. I am the warrior princess of Alvarez kingdom Erza "Scarlet" Belserion and I have come here to participate in the tournament" King looked surprised by this but smiled at her while saying in father like tone.

"Ohh... So my invitation did make it to your kingdom. Hahaha... I am glad" He spread his arms with his smile still present. "Welcome to the kingdom of Fiore. I am Gabriel Fernandez the forth, I am most honored to know that a famous warrior princess like yourself accepted to come here."

"The honor is mine, sir." She said while standing up. By this time Natsu made his way over to stand beside her and look back at the king who turned his gaze at him. He did not think much about the king, nor did it matter what he thought at this time. As long as Erza kept her end of the deal, he will do what she asks.

He got down on one knee and bowed down to Gabriel, earning him a smile from the king and a frown from Erza. She did not expect him to show respect to anyone else but her, although this turn of events was welcoming, it didn`t feel right watching him bow to someone else.

He was her champion and slave, no one else`s.

"Your champion I presume?" Erza nodded to the king as Natsu stood up.

"Yes, your majesty. This is Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragonslayer" Gabriel raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Fire dragonslayer?"

"Yes your majesty"

"What is that?" The king asked, interested in this topic

"The dragonslayer`s people who were trained in forms of the lost magic. They were trained by real dragons in order to control their respective elements, which in this case it fire." The king looked at Erza and then at Natsu in disbelief. He read about the lost magic but he never expected it to be real.

"Can you show it to me?" He asked in interest wanting to see the lost magic in action.

Erza looked taken aback by the request and looked over at Natsu who looked back at her then she turned back to the king.

"With all due respect your majesty. I think that you should wait until his first match" Erza said making kings smile drop for a second but came back as quickly as it disappeared.

"Ah Yes... You are right my dear. I shouldn`t rush things and I am sure you are both very tired from the trip." He snapped his fingers and two guards by his throne stepped forward "Show our guests to their rooms, they have a big day tomorrow and need good night sleep"

Guard`s were about to go with them but a sound of doors being opened made everyone turn to them. Through them came a man wearing the same cote as the king, he wore royal long-sleeved shirt and pants with leather boots. His eyes black and hair blue, he gazed upon Erza and Natsu in interest as he walked towards them.

"Ahh... It`s nice of you to join us" Gabriel said in a calm, cheerful voice

Natsu`s eyes narrowed at the younger-looking blue-haired man, his fists tightening as he approached them.

"Jellal my son..." Gabriel said with a fatherly smile

**Here it is chapter 7 is done. I told you I will be updating sooner, didn`t I. Also sorry for the OC, I don`t know who Jellal`s father was so I just went with this.**

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	8. The first round

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note:**

**I have nothing to say for myself. You can all call me names I deserve it. But please have mercy for this poor battleship. I am only on ship.**

**I am sorry you all.**

**I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 8

The first round

"Father." Jellal said the word like a greeting as he bowed, his attention shifted to their two guests "Another participant?"

"Indeed my boy. Meet Princess Erza Belserion of Alvarez kingdom and her champion Natsu Dragneel" Jellal walked over to where Erza stood and stopped in front of her.

Erza did not know what to expect from the young prince. But in her mind there was nothing special about him, sure his looks were fine and the rest of the princesses were probably drooling over him. But Erza did not, she had her goal to fulfill and nothing will stop her from doing so.

Jellal took her hand into his and bowed down to her before placing a kiss on the back of her hand afterward, placing his forehead on the spot he kissed.

"It`s an honor to meet you, my lady" Jellal said while getting up and looking at her. Erza only nodded in response "However I am surprised to see you here. I have heard about the great warrior princess from Alvarez, who is cable of steeling fear into any man or woman. But I never thought you will be so beautiful " he finished with a smile.

Erza`s cheeks redden slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice.

"Your sources are correct, my lord" Erza said, with the last part disgusting her. Calling a man a lord left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Hehehe... Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here. Our kingdom has plenty of places that you might find interesting as well as entertaining." Jellal said his smile never leaving his face.

"I hope so too, my lord" Erza said as she turned around to walk out of the throne room and called for Natsu to come with her.

Natsu who was looking at some painting in the room not paying attention to what they were talking, heard Erza calling him and proceeded to walk past Jellal.

Only for his arm to be caught by someone's hand. Natsu stopped in his step and turned his head to look at the one who dared to do so. It appeared that the prince had his arm in a light grip, examining it before moving to look him up from head to toe. After a few seconds, he let go of his arm and looked him in the eyes.

"You are unique. I have never seen someone as young as you with such body, you must have trained hard to obtain such physic." Jellal said with a smirk.

Natsu gave him a confused look before saying "Thanks I guess..." making Erza`s eyes widen at his rudeness.

Jellal only chuckled at him before extending his hand towards him "Well you most certainly are an interesting one. I can`t wait to see what you can do in the arena"

Natsu took his hand and shook it "You will be left with your jaw on the floor."

Erza gritted her teeth and shook in anger at Natsu`s rude answers.

Jellal only chuckled again before looking once again into Natsu`s onyx eyes. His smile left his lips as those onyx orbs gazed deep into his black ones. He was getting a strong feeling of deja vu as if he has already met this man somewhere before.

"Have we meet before?" Jellal asked with a tilt of his head, his hand still in Natsu`s.

"No. I don`t think so" Natsu took his hand away from his and walked over to where Erza stood. They walked out of the room with the door closing behind them.

When they were gone from the sight, Jella walked over to the second throne in the room and set down. He took a thinking pose and started to try and remember where he had met Natsu before.

Gabriel saw his son was deep in thought, decided to ask about the matter.

"Something on your mind Jellal?" his voice carried a little bit of concern

"I don`t know father. I have this feeling of familiarity when I look at that one. Like I have met him somewhere before, but I can`t remember where..."Jellal said while rubbing his forehead getting a headache from thinking too hard.

Gabriel looked at his son with a fatherly smile before putting his hand on his head and ruffling his hair "Don`t overthink it son. He probably just reminds you of someone like him. I mean he would have recognized you the moment he saw you right?"

Gabriel let his son be as he got up and walked towards the doors that later opened in front of him, letting him walk out and towards his room. Jellal watched his father exit before going back to his thought. He couldn`t shake this feeling of familiarity, it was beginning to bug him.

"_Natsu Dragneel... Where have I meet you before," _He thought to himself in an empty throne room.

**With Natsu and Erza:**

"I CAN`T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" Erza yelled at Natsu who was seen sitting in a very comfortable armchair. His face had an angry frown as he was breathing out from his nose, he had this same face ever since they came out of the throne room to begin their tour around the castle.

He was not paying attention to anything the guard was saying throughout the whole tour, only when he heard "This is where you eat" did he look around and saw a large room with a very fancy long table with a lot of chairs by it.

He was excited to finally eat some good food, however, the guard later said that this table is for princesses only and that their champions will be getting food once they are down in their cells and the princesses had their fill.

He was very disappointed about that.

Right now he was sitting in Erza`s guest room, with her standing over him with her hands on her hips, yelling at him again.

"_Seriously... How many times must I remind her about my enchanted hearing"_ He thought as a yawn escaped his mouth. He grows bored as Erza continued to shout at him.

"And that is why you should always show him respect" Erza finished, Natsu just blinked at her in boredom making Erza let out a cry of frustration out "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"

"Only the last part"

"_THUD"_ Erza fell onto the bed with a heavy thud

"_Oi woman. Take off your armor before you let yourself down, you could have broken the poor bed"_ Natsu thought to himself

"You are impossible," She says before sitting up "How can you be so careless?"

"It's just the way my father raised me" Natsu replied with a shit-eating grin

There was silence after that until Erza did not brake it again.

"So what`s wrong?" This question surprised Natsu, making him look at her. He smirked before saying in a teasing voice

"My princess. I didn`t know you cared, I`m touched" Erza`s cheeks redden at his tone of voice

"Don`t get the wrong idea. I am just ensuring that you don`t have any distractions" She replied denaying his claim

"Sure..."

"So are you going to tell me or do I have to force you." She said in a threatening voice

Natsu sighs knowing that his stubborn and hot-headed (hehe get it) princess will not let this pass, so he gave her the answer.

"I feel like I have seen him somewhere before" This got Erza`s eyes to light up in curiosity as she asked him another question

"You have been in Fiore before?" Natsu nodded his head

"Only for a day, however, I don`t seem to recall what I was doing here tho" Natsu said as he rubbed his chin in thought

"And you think it has something to do with the prince?"

"I didn`t say that. I only said that he seems familiar." Natsu paused before saying "But... A feeling is telling me not to trust him."

Natsu then suddenly got up from the chair and made his way towards the door.

"You don`t want to plan your strategy?" Erza asked while standing up from her own bad

"What is there to plan. I go out there, I beat the shit out of my opponent and move on. Easy as that." He replied in a confident tone

"Confidence is an enemy in its self," Erza said in a serious tone of voice "While it is sometimes good to be confident in your skills. It`s always better to have a planned out strategy, rather than just going in guns blazing not knowing what will happen. That`s why I suggest that you and I plan out your strategy for tomorrow."

Erza smiled with pride. Who better to have as a tournament fight strategist then her, a multi-time champion of many tournaments across her kingdom. Every strategy she has used in her tournaments left her opponents lying at her feet, their bodies bearly moving and their spirits were broken. She has never felt defeat before and with her help neither will Nat-.

"Nah I`m good"

With that, the sound of the door closing was heard

And silence took place once again.

...

...

...

"WHA!"

Erza slammed open the door, literally sending the guard that was standing outside of it flying down the hall

"GET BACK HERE DRAGON!" She yelled down the hall to where she thought he ran off to. She was about to focus her magic into her dragon stamp.

"HEY DO YOU MIND!" A voice made her look behind and saw four females in a different color nightgown, one had a white hair like Mirajane`s with black eyes wearing a white nightgown, the other was a brunette with brown eyes wearing an orange nightgown. The third one was bluenette with blue eyes wairing royal blue robe and the last one was a red hair just like her`s, she was wearing a purple nightgown. "Some of us are trying to get some sleep".

...

Erza gave them a "thc" before slamming her door shut. The other females all went back in their rooms with the red-haired one being the last one.

"What a hothead," She said before going back in her room.

**Morning (in the arena):**

It was a sunny day in Fiore as king Gabriel was sitting on the throne-like chair on the royal balcony inside colosseum. His people have already filled out the colosseum and were eagerly waiting for the tournament to begin. The king looked to his right where an empty chair similar to his was empty.

"_He is running late again,"_ Gabriel thought as a sigh left his mouth.

Then as if on queue Jellal came running through the doors and hurriedly set down beside his father.

"I apologies for being late father" Jellal said slightly out of breath

"It`s alright son. I was just about to introduce the princesses" Gabriel said as he stood up and walked towards the balcony with Jellal following him.

The crowd cheered when they saw the two royalties while the king and prince waved at them with smiles. Gabriel then slowly lowered his hand, telling them to settle down for a few moments.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls to the colosseum." Another round of cheers echoed throughout the arena. "Now we have gathered here today to witness 8 champions fight for their lady`s right to marry my son prince Jellal," Gabriel said with pride making the crowed once again let out a roar of cheers.

"Now let me introduce our princesses," He said while gesturing with his hand to the balcony below theirs which was slightly longer then royal one. There were eight chairs set up side by side as they were positioned that way to have a perfect view of the arena.

The first princess came through the door and walked to the chair on the far left side, she bowed down to the king and the prince before sitting down in her chair. She was a brunette with an orange dress with yellow flower patterns, she wore orange shoes and diamond neckless. Her chocolate brown eyes shined as she waved at the cheering crowd with a smile.

"Please welcome Princess Cana Alberona south Fiore kingdom"

" Princess Ultear Milkovich of Iceberg kingdom" Ultear is a beautiful young woman with purple dark hair and raid eyes. She is wearing a white and blue dress with light blue outlines that end by her waist, she held her balance perfectly as she walked with high heels on. She bowed to the Fiore royalties the same way Cana did before taking a seat next to her.

"Princess Evergreen of Minstrel kingdom " Evergreen is a light brown-haired woman with glasses over her dark brown eyes. She is wearing a light green dress with crown patterns on it, a light brown high heels and golden bracelets on both of her wrists. She bowed in respect before taking a seat to the far right.

"Princess Juvia Lockser of Seven kingdoms" Juvia is a brunette with dark blue eyes. She is wearing a light blue dress with water waves patter on it and light blue shoes on her feet. She sat one seat away from Evergreen.

"Princess Sorano of Bosco kingdom" A young woman with light blue hair and brown eyes, she wore a white dress with white fetter`s around it and white shoes on her feet. She took a seat between Evergreen and Juvia

"Princess Millianna east Fiore kingdom" a young woman with brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a dark brown dress with red outlines and red shoes. However the crowd was surprised when they saw a pair of cat ears on top of her head and a tail, but they didn`t mind for they thought that they made her look cute. She took a seat next to Ultear.

"Princess Erza Belserion of Alvarez kingdom" Erza walked with honor and pride in her step her adamantine armor shining in the sun lite. A natural expression placed on her face as she made it out to the balcony. She bowed down like the rest of them and waved at the cheering crowd before sitting down beside Millianna.

" Why are you wearing armor?" Millianna asked curiously.

"Why don`t you mind your own business" Erza replied coldly. Millianna just glared at her and turned her look back to the center of the arena.

Erza unfazed by her glare also looked towards the center of the arena, knowing that it was her champion that was going first. She remembers the talk they had before she got here.

**(10 minutes ago: in Natsu`s cell)**

"Alright, we have 10 minutes. Let`s plan your strategy" Erza said while pacing inside Natsu`s cell.

It was much nicer than the dungeons in Alvarez. The floor was wooden instead of cold cobblestone, it had a bed which was softer than a floor, a shower and a small table. Natsu who was laying on the bed with his hands behind his head, an uninterested look on his face.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" her yell echoed down the hall

"Oww! Can you not go a day without yelling. Jeez." Natsu said while rubbing the inside of his ear with his pinky

"I wouldn`t have to yell if you would just listen to me," Erza told him in an angry voice

"Oh come, one princess, there is nothing to worry about I will be fine," Natsu said in a confident tone of voice

"Your confidence will be your downfall," Erza said while rubbing her forehead in frustration

"I`ll worry about it when the time comes," Natsu said while rolling his shoulders "Oh and can you take this off already" he pointed to his collar

Erza looks at the collar around his neck that allowed her control over Natsu and thought about taking it off or leaving it on. After a few seconds, she made her decision.

"No." She told him while crossing her arms over her chest

"WHAT!" He shouted at her, his eyes wide in disbelief

"You heard me," she says simply

"But why?" Natsu whined

"Because I don`t trust you," Erza said with narrowed eyes

"The feeling is a mutual princess," the dragonslayer tells her before sighing "How am I suppose to fight at full power when I can`t even lit a little fame from my finger"

Erza raised her hand to her chin in thinking pose. She did not want Natsu to have too much power to the point where he could turn on her, but at the same time, she did want him to leave the kind and the people of Fiore speechless. So with her mind made up she poured her magic into her dragon stamp making it and the collar glow red.

Seconds later Natsu felt some of his power returning to him. A rush of magic flow through his core as his body became warmer. When the rush ended he could feel that he had only 40% of his magic back, surprised by this action he looked at Erza with questioning face.

"Don`t get the wrong idea. I still don`t trust you" Erza said in cold voice "But I learned that first impressions are important for showing people what you are capable of. So I expect you to leave a very good first impression. Is that clear little dragon?"

"Yeah yeah whatever," He said while waving his hand at her making her glare at him "And stop calling me that! If we have to already do this together then call me by my name."

"Very well" She paused before finishing her saying with a small blush "Natsu."

She walked out of his cell and closed the door of it. She looked at him one last time with the look that said "_if you don`t win, our deal is off"_ before walking away towards the arena balcony.

Now all alone. Natsu looked at his right hand and summoned fire around it, he watched as the flames danced around it in a slow calming pace. He admired it for a few seconds before punching the palm of his right hand with his left fist, making the flames burst around from the impact.

"I`m all fired up," he said with his signature grin

**(Present time: Balcony)**

"_You better not disappoint me drag-... Natsu"_ Erza thought to herself, she couldn`t wait for the match to start.

"And finally Princess Erza Knightwalker of Edolas Kingdom." Gabriel`s announcement earned him another big round of cheers from his people.

"_Erza... Knightwalker?"_ Erza thought as she turned her head to look behind her. There walking slowly towards the sitting princesses was what Erza would describe as a perfect copy of herself. The woman in question had scarlet red hair and chocolate brown eyes just like her, except where Erza wore full body armor the Knightwalker wore a halter – type armor breastplate top, with light armored gauntlets and graves on her forearms and forelegs, as well as her thighs, as well as hoodless and sleeveless coat around her **(Besacly her normal outfit just imagen that the coat covers her up).**

Knightwalker bowed down to the king and prince before giving a bow to the crowd. She smiled as the crowd cheered loudly for her before taking her seat in between Juvia and Erza. Feeling a set of eyes on her, she turned her gaze to meet the eyes of a warrior princess. The two look at each other Erza at Knightwalker with coldness and intensity, while Knightwalker looked at her with wonder and curiosity.

"My my... It`s like looking into a mirror" Knightwalker said in wonder while looking Erza up from head to toe, her voice a little bit deeper then Erza`s "You must be the famous warrior princess I heard so much about. I can say that the tales of your reputation are true."

"Hmm. You have seen nothing yet" Erza said in a cold tone before turning her gaze towards the arena. Knightwalker felt insulted by her words but decided to ignore her for now as the match first match is about to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Please welcome the first champions" At kings words, the gates of the dungeons on the far left side opened "He represents princess Evergreen and the kingdom Minstrel please welcome Goth the Giant"

A man who stood seven-foot-tall walked out from the opened gates. He was wearing gray leather pants and brown boots. He had no shirt on which revealed his monsters muscles on his upper body, he is wearing a rusty metal face mask which covered his entire face, only thing noticeable around the mask are the fallen off locks of his long gray hair.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR" He let out an air piercing roar making the crowed shut up for a moment before exploding in excitement at the big man's actions.

Evergreen smiled as her champion continued to roar, already thinking her victory is assured. Erza on another hand was looking at the seven-foot man with narrowed eyes.

"_This one is bigger then I thought... I wonder if I should have given Natsu some more... No, If he is truly as good as he thinks he is, he will win this round no matter how big or strong his opponent is." _Erza thought to herself but she couldn`t shake this feeling of worry that was building up the more she studied the giant.

"And now his opponent." Gabriel`s voice rang throughout the arena again "He represents princess Erza Belserion and Alvarez kingdom, he is a fire dragonslayer please welcome Natsu Dragneel."

"_Dragonslayer?..." _thought all princesses except for Erza as the gate on the far right raised and out walked Natsu.

He walked with a smirk on his face and confident aura around him. When he was sure all eyes were on him, he opened his mouth and let out a medium-sized torrent of fire leave his mouth and into the air.

...

...

"YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" The crowd seemed to cheer louder than ever before at Natsu making the fire mage smirk widen.

" _What was that?"_Jellal thought while his father had a pleased look on his face.

The princesses all had their mouths opened in shock and disbelief while Erza smirked at their shocked expressions. Evergreen who was looking confident a few minutes ago was now sweating a little bit and was nervous about the outcome of this match. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Erza smirking at her nervus expression.

"Don`t look so confidant Belserion. Your`s might breathe fire but that will not stop my giant from destroying him." Evergreen said with a smirk of her own trying to act confident

Erza`s smirk was replaced with a cold gaze before returning her gaze to the arena "We shall see." This was her only replay to Evergreen.

Natsu who still had his confidant grin on, stood across from Goth who was looking down at him. Natsu rolled his shoulder and cracked his neck before going down to his fighting stance.

"Bring it on the big guy," He said with a toothy grin

"ROOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR" Goth released a war cry before charging towards Natsu.

"NO KILLING!" The king said just before Goth took a swing at Natsu who dodged under it. Goth continued his attack swinging wildly at Natsu who continued to doge.

"_Man his is so slow,"_ Natsu thought with a bored expression on his face as Goth raised his right fist up of an overhead strike. He brought his fist down towards Natsu who just sidestepped it making Goth lean forward with his upper body.

Natsu seeing his opponent's face at his level delivered a punch to the Goth`s face, his enchanted strength giving him enough power to dent in the metal that was on the left cheek. Goth stumbled to his right, the impact to his face making him lose balance forcing him on his knee.

"_DAMN THAT HURT! OUCH!"_ Natsu thought while rubbing his hand in pain before quickly kicking Goth in the chest sending the giant down to his back. Goth quickly got back to his feet and charged at the dragon slayer with his fist raised and pulled it back ready to try and strike Natsu again.

But Natsu being the quicker of the two appeared in front of the giant and punched him to the stomach making Goth grab his stomach in pain with both arms and hunch forward. Natsu raised his foot back and in a soccer player like fashion, kicked Goth`s head and forced the giant to recoil back and onto his back all while he used the momentum of the kick to do a backflip.

Natsu landed on his feet from the back kick and yawn in boredom, his arms crossed over his chest with a disappointed look.

"_Man this guy is a joke. I am not even trying here and he still can`t hit me"_ He then felt a sharp pain in his foot, courtesy of Goth`s metal mask."God... I need to stop hitting that thing I am doing more damage to myself then he is" he said to himself as he saw Goth getting back up.

Evergreen was clutching her chair in anger and nervousness, she bit her lower lip as the fight continued. Her mind not believing that a guy smaller then her`s was beating his opponent with little to no effort. Her eyes moved to Erza who was smirking the whole time, looking pleased with Natsu`s performance.

"_Don`t look so smug you bitch..."_ Evergreen thought while grinding her teeth "_The fight is not over yet and while I don`t know what kind of freak you have on your side but don`t think lightly of Goth."_

She looked to Goth and saw him pick up a fist full of sand. She smiled when she saw Natsu walking towards him with his guard down and looking completely bored.

"_Because he doesn't play fair," _she thought with a smirk as Natsu raised his fist to strike Goth again only for Goth to throw sand in his face, getting the sand in his eyes and mouth.

"ACH (_cough)_ (_cough_) (_cough_)" He recoiled in surprise and turned his back to Goth while trying to get the sand out of his eyes and mouth. Goth seeing this as his golden opportunity quickly got to his feet and wrapped his arms around Natsu`s head and neck locking him in a perfect chokehold.

Natsu tried to pray his arms off his neck but his opponent was too strong, it only got worse when Goth stood up to his full hight bringing Natsu off the ground and locking him in a modified version of a hangman coke hold. This increased the process of choking Natsu out for while he was being choked by a guy bigger and more stronger than him, he also had gravity trying to pull him down increasing already heavy pressure around his neck.

The crowd begins to boo Goth for the cheap shot and call him names. Jellal narrowed his eye at the scene and turned to his father who was looking on with the same expression. Gabriel looked at his son with a face that said "don`t talk just watch" and turned his attention back to the fight. Jellal did not know why but his father seemed to think that it's not over, but a feeling inside him told him to trust his father`s judgment so without a word he turned back to the fight.

On the balcony below them, princesses all except Erza and Evergreen had a look of disgust on their faces. Erza`s face was one of pure anger as her hand gripped onto the armrests of her chair threatening to break them off. Evergreen had a satisfied smile on her face enjoying the look of pain and struggle on Natsu`s face.

"Are you proud of such a cowardly act?" Princess Sorano asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"He let his guard down... It`s his loss for doing that." Evergreen simply while crossing her legs

"But still to think that someone of your standard will be satisfied with this. I can only imagine what kind of a princess you are to your people." Knightwalker said while narrowing her eyes

"Thc... There is no rule that says you can`t use an environment as your weapon. Besides isn`t winning all that matters to all of us?" Evergreen said while looking at others who only turned their heads in a show of disgust with her statement.

Erza however, continued to glare at the woman so hard that some thought she will kill her with it. Evergreen only smiled at her and said in a cocky voice.

"What`s wrong Belserion? Angry that your little dragonslayer is losing?" Erza wanted to skin this woman alive.

However, she knew that if she attacked her now that it will only end badly for her. So with anger still burning in her she looked back towards the fight where Natsu was trying to get out of Goth`s hold.

"_Come on Natsu... Find a way out of this._" Erza thought as a worry for her champion was increasing with each passing second.

Natsu felt his head spinning as his vision started to blur, his arms felt weak as his legs were slowly stopped kicking. Goth thinking that Natsu was on the verge of passing out tighten his hold.

Natsu stopped moving.

...

...

The arena was quite. No cheering or sound has heard only the sound of wind lightly blowing on a sunny day. Erza leaned back in her chair a crestfallen look on her face as Evergreen was smiling in triumph.

"_No... I lost... I don`t believe it... I could-_"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A cry snapped everyone out of their shocked state, making them look back down to the arena. Only to shield their eyes when they saw a huge tornado of flames explode from the spot the fighters were. The heat and magical energy were so strong it made everyone in the colosseum sweat and shake in fear.

All except for the king and prince who had a look of disbelief and wonder. When it tornado died down everyone saw Natsu standing there with fire around his whole body. Everyone couldn`t believe what they were seeing.

Natsu paid them no mind as he turned his gaze towards his opponent. Goth was to his surprise still standing with a hug burns on his arms, chest, and abdomen. He was shaking from the pain and fear but was still standing up.

"I am impressed... Most people would be on the floor screaming in agony from something like that." Natsu said in a calm tone "However this is where our fight ends you bastard" He said as he charge`s towards Goth at speed greater than before.

Goth had no time to react as Natsu appeared in front of him with his fist burning stronger than the rest of him.

And with a mighty cry, he delivered the final blow.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S IRON FIST!**" He delivered a mighty punch to Goth`s mask denting it completely and sending him flying towards the other side of the arena. When he hit the floor Goth did not move from his spot at the ground anymore.

"(_panth) (panth) (panth)_" Natsu`s heavy breath was the only sound inside the colosseum as the doctor ran out from one of the gates and went on to check on Goth. He put his thumb and index finger in the middle of Goth`s wrist to feel if there is a puls. Nodding to himself after a few seconds, he looked up to the king gave him a thumb up.

Gabriel smiled as he raised from his seat which got the people's attention.

"Your winner Natsu Dragneel of Alvarez kingdom"

"_CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER_!" The crowd cheered louder than before while Natsu looked around with wide eyes. He never experienced anything like this before but he knew how it felt.

"_some more cheering"_

This roar of the crowd...

"NATSU" "NATSU" "NATSU"

The shouting of his name

It made him feel accepted...

He smiled widely before waving at the crowd and then bowing in a show of appreciation.

"_What power..."_ Jellal thought in amazement, the look of disbelief still on his face "_I never seen anything like it... The energy of his magic felt so heavy... It was like-"_

"Steering at the face of a dragon." Jellal was broken out of his disbelief by his father finishing his taught out load. He saw his father had a smile on his face

"I have read and heard stories about lost magic... But I could have never imagined that it would be this powerful."

Jellal nodded his head in agreement.

"We have to talk later Jellal." Gabriel said to his son"this might be our chance for our plan to be put in motion."

Jellal nodded this time in understanding as his eyes followed Natsu as he exited the arena. Thinking about how familiar his face of anger looked.

Below them on the balcony princesses were. Evergreen angrily left the balcony all the while yelling at her servents to start packing her stuff. The six other princesses were all sitting there shocked at what has transpired not too long ago.

Erza let out a breath that she was holding as she smiled at Natsu before he didn`t disappear through the arena gates. She got up and walked toward the same doors Evergreen just stormed out from, her metal boots clicking under her as she walked through them and towards the dungeon.

While she was leaving Erza did not notice a smirk that the Knightwalker was giving the dragonslayer before he did not disappear out of sight. She licked her lips as remembered the heat from earlier and how it ran down her body, all the way to her very core.

"_Hmm... I might have found someone better than the prince"_ Knightwalker as a lusty smile grazed her lips.

**Author`s note: I had a busy two weeks, so sorry for such a delay. **

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**And see ya in the next one.**


	9. Appreciation and curiosity

**Her Champion**

**Author`s note: Yo what`s up boys and girls. I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I am still alive.**

_**Yeeey...**_

**The bad news is I don`t have a laptop at work anymore. Which means I am having a really hard time uploading new chapters. It`s not the matter that I am lazy now as much as it is that I am tired of everything that has been going this entire month.**

**However, I want you all to know that I did not give up on this story and that I will finish it no matter how long it takes me.**

**Because I love Natsu x Erza fanfics and I want to give you guys something new to read.**

**Even tho Its really poorly written. **

**But I still hope you guys are not mad at me and I hope you enjoy this one.**

**Btw I do not own anything from fairy tail other than some OC`s.**

Chapter 9

Natsu fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes in satisfaction. Although he was disappointed that his opponent was so unskilled and weak, he is still happy with the outcome of the fight. Pride filled his chest as the crowd kept on cheering his name even after he disappeared behind the doors. He could tell they were impressed all of them.

The crowd.

The king.

The prince.

Princesses.

He was glad about that. Even if it was only 40% of his power, he still managed to leave the crowd speechless. A chuckle escaped his lips at some of the faces he remembers they made. But for some reason, he felt most proud of the fact that Erza was smiling and genuinely looking happy that he won.

Speaking of the devil. His nose picks up a familiar scent of the scarlet warrior and the sound of her metal boots against a stone floor was heard coming towards him. He expected her to come and lecture his ears off with all the errors she thought he made throughout the fight.

But was surprised when he saw her carrying a platter of food in one hand. She used the other hand to open the door to his cage and walked in before locking it behind her. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she set the platter down on the table. She summoned a fork, knife and a spoon for him and set down on one of the chairs. He raised an eyebrow at her before slowly walking towards the chair across from her and sitting down.

"What`s this princess?" He asked while looking down at the food.

There were various items on the platter. From different types of meat like pork, chicken, and turkey. To various fruits and vegetables as well as some rice and smashed potatoes.

"Your meal Natsu." She said while crossing her legs and arms "You earned it with your performance out there. I can tell that the king and his kingdom were all impressed with you. They will be looking forward to your next match."

He looked between the food and her before narrowing his eyes at her "How can I be sure that this food isn`t poisoned?"

A thick mark appeared on Erza`s head at Natsu`s stupidity "Do you really think I would poison you after what you did out there? You are truly an idiot."

He sent her a narrowed look before picking a piece of pork in his hand and put it in his mouth. Once he felt no negative effects coming from his body, he began to devour everything on the platter. All while Erza was watching him with wide eyes as he ate.

To put it simply. It disgusted her.

He was eating like a wild animal. Not caring about manners nor caring about using any silverware. He just kept shoving food in his face. She was about to yell at him for such animalistic behavior.

"Hey princess" but stopped when he stopped eating and called out to her "Thank you for the food. Looks like you are not as bad as I thought" he said with a smile on his face.

Erza`s eyes widen at that in surprise. She did not expect him to thank her for something so small as food but it brought that unfamiliar warmth in her chest that made her hand rise to touch the spot it was coming from. Although she did not understand what it was that was making her feel this way, it was welcoming none the less.

She smiles at him again before saying "There is no need to thank me Natsu. You earned this so enjoy"

She will save the yelling for another time. After about 5 minutes the platter was empty with only pieces of food crumbs left on it. Erza in all her time as a warrior and princess has never seen someone clean that much food in under 10 minutes. Just what the hell was he eating when he was a child.

"More please," Natsu said while holding the platter out for her to take.

This woke Erza up from her thoughts as she blinked at him, thinking she did not hear it right.

"I am sorry. What?" She asked Natsu

"One more please."

...

"WHAAAAAAAAAAA?" Erza comically fell from her chair but quickly stood up "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ONE MORE!? You just ate a platter of food worth for four people to eat! How the hell can you eat more?" she yelled at him in shock and disbelief

"Hey I did not have a decent meal in five days, so sorry if I`m asking too much" He replied with a shout out

"Well, how much do you usually eat?" She asked curiously

"About six times this bigger than this one" He answers simply

...

...

...

Erza was speechless. She looks at the platter in his hands then looks at him before imagining four platters with two times more food then this one. Natsu eating it all and becoming fat. In all honesty, if what he says is true then he should have been fat a long time ago. But looking at his body, Erza can`t believe that what he is saying is true.

"You are lying." She accuses Natsu

"WHAT!? No why would I lie" Natsu said while shaking his hand around

"There is no way that you can eat that much without getting some extra weight. It`s just not possible." Erza says while shaking her head

"Well as you can see it is possible," Natsu says while closing his eyes and smirking

They stood there in silence Erza just looking at him and Natsu smirking back at her.

"Where does it all go?"

"Into these bad boys," He said while flexing his arms, showing off his well-defined biceps.

Erza stared at his arms with a dazed look. She felt something wet run down from the right side of her lips and down her chin but was too focused on her task to care about it.

"Ehh... Princess. You`re drooling" She broke out of her thoughts with crimson blush spreading on her face. She quickly looked away not wanting Natsu to see her face.

"So can I have another one or no?" He asked hopefully

Erza sighs before taking the platter and walking towards the door. She unlocked it and walked out before locking it again.

"I will get you another one later. Now I have to go prepare myself for my meeting with the prince." She tells him which made him raise an eyebrow.

"You have a meeting with him already?" Natsu asked

"It seems that he meets all the princesses that win the first rounds of the tournament. I expect him to do this with the others as well." Erza says while turning her head to look at him "It will most likely be him asking questions about me and me answering. What a drag this will be." Erza says while rolling her eyes. Clearly want to do anything else but meet with a prince.

"Aww. Don`t be like that. That is your future husband your talking about." Natsu said teasingly with a smirk on his face.

Erza instantly grabbed the bars of his cage and said to him in treating voice "He will be no such thing. YOU HEAR!"

"Yeah yeah whatever," He said as he laid back on his bed again

Erza wanted to say more to Natsu but give up when the possibility of being late entered her mind. She gave him one last look before heading down the hallway away from her champions cell. When he was sure she left, Natsu tried to activate his flames but found out he couldn`t once again.

"Thc... She sealed off my magic again." He said while looking at his hand.

A few minutes later he heard the main doors of the dungeons open and the sound of boots hitting the floor echoing throughout the hallway. He sniffed the air and found out that it contains a strange but pleasant aroma of blueberries. The sound continued to get closer and closer until it did not stop in front of his cell. His eyes shifted to the bars that hold him inside and his eyes narrowed in confusion at what he saw.

Standing there was Erza but she looked... different. She wore halter – type armor breastplate top, with light armored gauntlets and graves on her forearms and forelegs, as well as her thighs, as well as a hoodless and sleeveless coat around her. Not to mention she does not smell like she usually doses.

Something was not right here.

They stared at each other for a few minutes. With Natsu looking at her with a confused look and her smiling at him.

"Umm... Who are you?" He asks the woman surprising her.

"Oh. You can tell I am not your master?" She asks in a calm voice

"My "master" wouldn`t walk around in something as revealing like that. Nor would she suddenly start smelling like blueberries."

The woman looked even more surprised but quickly smiled once more while rising a hand to her chin "You are really interesting one indeed Natsu Dragneel. I am curious"

He did not know why but something about this woman did not sit right with him. Unlike the one who has him on the leash, he does not sense any kind of danger coming from this woman if anything she gives off a very calm vibe. Almos as if looking at the river.

She then lightly grabs one of the bars and leans on it before asking "Would you mind if I... entertain you? Just for a little bit." She asks this time giving Natsu a smile that sent shivers down his spine.

Although he did not know what to think of this woman suddenly appearing in front of his cell. He could use something to kill his time while waiting for Erza to come back.

"Sure. Can you tell me what I can call you?" He asks while sitting with his legs crossed in the lotus position.

She chuckles at his casual behaver before doing a ladylike bow "My people and others call me Knightwalker..."

"But you Natsu... You may call me Erza" Her smiles slightly widens at the end.

"_Oh... That could be confusing if two Erza`s end up in the same room"_

**Author`s note: Sorry for a short chapter. I tried to find more ways to make it longer but I couldn`t think of any.**

**I hope you still enjoyed.**

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	10. Lunch and offers

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Hey y`all... Still no laptop on my end. Don`t know when or if it will ever come at all. Also thank you guys so much for 100 followers. You have no idea how happy I am to know that this shitty story got 100 followers. So starting in the next chapter. I will be responding to all of the reviews from the previous chapter so you guys get my feedback on the things you write. I hope you guys don`t mind.**

**Chapter 10 is here.**

**Enjoy it and I hope you guys did not and will not get the coronavirus.**

**P.S: I don`t own any of Fairy tail`s characters. **

Chapter 10

Lunch and offers

Erza was walking through the hall leading to the dining room, where the prince was waiting. Her armor reflecting the rays of light that were shining through the windows. She didn`t bother changing out of it nor did she care about what she wore in front of the prince. She was a proud warrior. She wanted the whole world to see her as such.

After a few more minutes of walking, she arrived at the door of the dining room where two guards stood at each side of it.

They did a low bow in a show of respect to which she only nodded back. The guard on the right opened the door for her to enter.

She entered and the doors slowly closed behind her. The dining room of the Fiore palace unlike in her palace had dark greenish color walls, with their family crest pattern on them (Jellal`s logo), the floor was made out of marble-like stone that is dark blue, on her right she saw four wide windows with big white curtains on them, there were also many paintings of family members and different arts.

But the one that instantly caught her eyes was the biggest picture of Jellal and his father which was positioned behind the real Jellal who was sitting at the crown pf the table that was big enough to hold up to thirty people.

When her eyes fell on Jellal he smiled and said "Welcome Princess Belserion. Please have a seat."

She did as told and walked to the one opposite of him. The one that was farthest away from him.

"You can sit closer you know. I don`t mind." He said in a reassuring tone. Surprised that she set so far away from him.

"No need. I am fine right here."She replied respectfully. Just because he was a prince, does not means she trusts him.

Not even a minute passed, a girl with black hair, blue eyes wearing a maids outfit walked into the room with two plates in each hand. She did a slight bow to both Jellal and Erza before setting the two plates down in front of them.

"Thank you. Stella." Jellal told the maid to which she bows again to both of them before heading out of the room.

Erza watched her leave before looking down at her plate. A red liquid was laying inside the plate with a strong scent of tomatoes coming with the steam from the soup. Confirming it to be tomato soup.

Jellal saw her gazing at her soup in thought. He gave her a smile before speaking in assuring voice "There is nothing in there that would bring you harm my lady. Our chef is one of the best chefs in all four regions of our kingdom."

Erza looked up towards him before returning her gaze to the soup" No It`s not that my lo-"

"Please call me Jellal... There is no need to be so formal with me my lady." He interrupted her in a polite voice. Which irritated Erza a little bit. She hated it when people interrupted her.

"Jellal..."The word slide off her tongue like it was poison "I was just thinking about my kingdom" She met his eyes for a second before picking up her spoon and begin to eat her soup. Jellal not wanting to upset her with any more unnecessary words. Begin to eat as well.

They ate in silence until Jellal decided to break it.

"Speaking of which. I heard that the Alvarez kingdom is a woman-dominated nation. Where males have fewer rights and freedom than females. Is that true?" He asked curiously.

"It is. Ever since my mother become the queen." She answered truthfully.

"Which brings me to my next interest. I am surprised that you accepted my invitation to this tournament. I didn`t expect that you would accept taking into consideration how your reputation and status describe your persona. So may I ask why did you choose to accept it." Jellal asked her to which she only narrowed her eyes slightly before saying.

"Forgive me Jellal... But that is personal information."

"I see... Forgive me for asking my lady."

"Apology accepted."

...

...

"Did you enjoy the fight?" Jellal asked after a few seconds of silence.

Erza huffed before setting the spoon down in now empty plate and crossing her arms over her chest.

"The results were as expected Nat- I mean... My champion was superior and better in every way possible. His opponent never stood a chance." She said proudly with a confident smirk on her face.

Jellal smirked at her proud words. He interwinds his fingers together before setting his chin on them with his elbows on the table for support.

"I see... My Lady. If I may... I would like to ask you a few questions about your... Champion."

Erza lost her smirk at those words. Her eyebrow raised in a questioning look. In her mind, she was wondering what did the prince want to know about Natsu.

**Meanwhile in the dungeons:**

"How did you do it?" Knightwalker asked the sitting dragon slayer.

"Huh?" was his reply

"That tornado of fire... I am willing to say that everyone felt it. The heat, the pressure, the power it created. I have never seen anything like it. How did you do it?"

"Oh..." Natsu said after realizing what she meant "It was just something I learned while messing with my magic."

"Magic?" Knightwalker asked in surprise

"Yeah, It`s called the fire dragon slayer magic. It allows me to gain aspects of a fire dragon. Such as enchanted senses, strength, speed, fire manipulation and an ability to eat fire." Natsu told her. He did not know the reason why he did tho. But something in his gut told him he could trust her.

"Woah... That is truly amazing. I have never heard that such exists." Knightwalker said in an amazed tone.

"Hehe... It`s pretty cool right?" Natsu said in a nervus voice while scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

"It is... You are truly blessed to have such powerful magic. Unlike my people..." Knightwalker said with her voice becoming sad and sorrowful towards the end.

Natsu seeing her mood become from interested to sad he asked her "What do you mean by that?"

Knightwalker turned so that her front was facing the hallway she came from. Her face looking down in sadness. As she leans on the bars of Natsu`s cell.

She had no reason to tell him. He was another princesses champion and a would-be enemy of her champion. So why does she feel like telling him her story anyway? She sighs before deciding to tell him.

"Back home... In the kingdom of Edolas my people... They can`t use magic at all. No matter how easy or simple the magic maybe. For some reason, they can`t even get a spark of magic to appear. That made Edolas... My home into becoming the weakest kingdom out of every other one. Our royal prophet has foreseen that one day I will bring them someone, who has learned the ways of the magic by no normal means and that he will make Edolas into the kingdom that it should have been ages ago." Knightwalker said her last words filled with pride as she raised her fist.

However really soon she becomes crestfallen again "That prophecy was told six years ago. I have traveled around kingdoms... Endlessly searching for someone but everywhere I went only more failure was found."

Natsu set his gaze down on the floor. Feeling sorry for her.

"Then one day..." Natsu looked up at her when she spoke again "While I was doing my royal duties, one of my servants brought me a scroll. It was an invitation to participating in a tournament as well as for the hand of Prince Jellal. I have heard that the prince is a very powerful magic wielder. With power capable of destroying armies.

"_Capable of destroying armies_?" Natsu thought with his right hand underneath his chin.

"And that`s why I came here..." She looked back at him only to see him looking back at her with a faraway look in his eyes. She waved a hand in front of him but got no reaction. She then clapped her hands in front of him which finally woke him up from his dreamland.

"HUH!..." He jumped a little from the loud sound before realizing what he was doing "Oh... sorry got lost in my head there." He gave her an apologetic smile.

She lightly shook her head in disappointment before turning fully to him.

"It`s fine... But if you don`t mind Natsu. I would like to see your fire magic up close... And personal." She let out a seductive purr at the end.

Natsu blushed at her words and cough a little bit before saying.

"Sorry to disappoint Erza. But you see my _master_..." He hated that word "Has put this on me." He grabbed at the metal dragon collar around his neck. Giving it a few pulls before letting it go.

"It`s an anti-magic collar that stops me from using my magic. Not only that! This thing shocks me whenever I defy her order or if she puts magic into that stupid stamp." He explained while his face adopted a sneer at the memory of him getting shocked.

"A stamp?" Knigtwalker asked

"It`s hidden on her right shoulder beneath her armor." He explained

"_So that`s how she is able to control him... Interesting." _Knightwalker thought with a small smirk on her face before turning her expression into a look of worry.

"That thing looks unpleasant to wear... Is it choking you?" She asked him in a worried voice.

"It used to but Miss Perfect became reasonable enough to make it so it doesn't. It`s still unpleasant to wear tho." He said rubbing his neck with his finger through the opening underneath the collar.

Knightwalker focused on the collar on his neck. She took in the design and craftsmanship of it thinking how magnificent it looked. She then saw a keyhole and her eyes widen and a small smirk made its way to her lips.

"You know... I can free you from her hold." Her words made Natsu look at her with wide eyes.

"You can... How?" He asked in wonder.

Knightwalker continued smirking and said, "With this". She reached inside her coat and pulled out a lock picking set. Natsu just stared at the tools in confusion.

"What are those?"

"These are lock picking tools. They are used for picking locks that you don`t have a key for." She explained

"And you just go around with that in your pocket? Don`t you think that is a little bit suspicious..." he said

"Don`t get the wrong idea... I simply like to be prepared for any situation and also if... I ever... forget... my key..." She uttered the last part quietly. If it weren`t for his enchanted hearing Natsu wouldn`t have heard that.

He chuckled at her embarrassed face and thought that she looked cute like that. "Hehehe... I guess even princesses are humans haha..."

She was surprised by this reaction she expected him to make fun of her for doing something so unexpected form the person of her stature.

"You won`t make fun of me?" She asked in surprise.

"Why would I do that?" He asked back

"It`s just... It`s not often you see other princesses with this kind of habit."

Natsu only chuckled again before saying "What does it matter. I don`t care if you are a princess or a slave. What matters to me is what kind of person you are. And I can safely say Erza... You are one of the best ones I have met since coming into this kingdom. I wouldn`t think any less of you."

Her eyes widen at his words. Ever since she was a child. She would be judged by others for doing certain things that were not expected from her. She hated the feeling of being judged for her actions, even when they were to help someone. But this man did not care. He saw her like he saw everyone else and did not judge her based on her actions.

A warm feeling welled up in her chest as her hand was placed over it. She smiled genuinely at his words as her body filled with the unknow warmth.

"Thank you for your kind words Natsu..." She said in a soft voice "Now then how about we get that thing off your neck?"

Natsu was about to say "Hell yeah" but stopped when he remembered something important. A flashback of his promise to Erza Scarlet played inside his mid making him let out a sigh as looked up at her.

"I am sorry Erza..." This confused Erza

"_Why is he apologizing_?" She thought whit a raised eyebrow.

"I can`t accept your offer." Her eyes widen at that. She was about to say something when he continued "It`s not that I don`t want to be free again. However, I made a promise to my master... And in turn, she promised to help me find my father. I intend to keep my promise for my father taught me to stay true to my word and I will not disrespect him by turning away from this."

Erza saw the fire in his eyes as he spoke with determination. She closed her eyes in disappointment before opening them with a small smile on her lips.

"Very well Natsu. If you ever change your mind let me know. And also... Do you mind if I come to talk with you from time to time? I would like to learn more about your magic." He asked hopefully

"Sure. You seem like a nice person. So I would like to learn more about you too." Natsu said while giving her one of his toothy smiles.

"Thank you... Natsu" She said smiling back

Natsu then sniffed the air as his eyes widen in recognition of the scent.

"Heh looks like she is done with her meeting." He muttered bitterly

"Your master is coming?"

"Yeah... You better go now. I don`t think she will like it if she saw you talking with me." Natsu said as he stood up before jumping on to the bed.

"Indeed. She does look one of those that get mad easily." She said while taking to steps away from his cage.

"You have no idea." A sound of the metal door opening was heard down the hallway away from them.

"Talk with you later Natsu." She did a slight bow before walking down the hallway.

"Bye.." She heard him say as she left his vision.

Halfway through the hallway, she saw her Alvarezin kingdom twin carrying a platter of food in her hands. She had an annoyed expression on her face as she passed Knightwalker without even glancing in her direction. She watched an armored princess walk a few more steps before continuing with her path towards the balcony.

The next match was between her`s and Juvia`s champion. She did not want to miss that. Tho as she made it out of the dungeon one question came to her mind.

"_What the hell is up with all that food she was carrying?"_

**A/N:** **And it`s done. Thank you guys once again for 100 followers.**

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	11. Chapter 11

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Hi guys happy late easter to all of you. I hope you all spend it happily with your families and got to eat teasty cakes.**

**Now for the reviews.**

**Meazm: "Noice! Natsu getting double Erza! Noiceeee!"**

**Me: "Yesss I agree. That would be nice."**

**BomBashious: "stupid. So natsu is loyal to sameone who treats him like shit. Hahaha trash fic."**

**Me: "Whatever man."**

**Francesco Capogna: "Next pleaseee"**

**Me "(hands you the next chapter) Here you go."**

**Guest: "Nice story brother keep ut the great work."**

**Me: "Thanks you too brother."**

**Mistico15: "Interesting, very interesting, this is getting exciting. Knightwalker and Natsu showing a different kind of bond compared to his Erza. So I like where this is goingso I can`t wait for more of this. Update soon! :)"**

**Me: "I like where this is going also."**

**Raphtalia: "I like Natsu/Erza dynamic. I can`t wait for more. Not knightwalker or the other girls, no please.**

**Me: "Hehehe you don`t have to worry. Nice name by the way."**

**Okay, that was all of the reviews from the last chapter. Now on with the story.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 11

Sparring and bonding

Jellal let out an exhausted sigh as he stared out at the kingdom through the window in his bedroom. He has just finished having lunch with each princess that has made it into the semi-finals and he was spent. He thinks back at the four princesses who made it to the semi-finals.

Cana Alberona, Princess Ultear Milkovich, Princess Knightwalker and Princess Belserion. All of these ladies have not only shown what their champions could do but also how well mannered are as well as told him their origins and story. True he has only met with each of them two times now, not to mention how he bearly knows them but after tomorrow's semi-finals. He will take the time to learn more about whoever the last two princesses will be.

However, his mind was now focused on another thing or rather someone. His mind wandered back to his meal with princess Erza Belserion and the answers he received from her.

Thinking over them now. He realized that princess Belserion did not know anything about her champion. The only thing she knew is what magic he uses and that he was raised by a dragon named Igneel who also taught him how to use his magic. Other then that she didn`t know anything else.

This made it frustrating for Jellal since he still didn`t know anything about the pink-haired dragon slayer who looked really familiar for some reason. His head started to hurt more and more as he taught about it.

He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to clear his thoughts. His eyes moved down to the stairs that lead up to the palace and he saw a familiar-looking red-haired princess. He immediately knew that it was Belserion since she is the only one who wears the full sett armor unlike any of her other fellow princesses.

She standing at the end of the chairs her arms of her chest plate with her foot tapping impatiently on the ground. A frown upon her face as she was looking up the stairs.

"_Who is she waiting for?" _He thought as his answer came into his sight a few seconds later.

Walking down the stairs at a lazy pace was Natsu. He made it to Erza who if Jellal guessed was now yelling at him for taking so long to get there. To which Natsu only put his hands behind his head and proceeded to walk away from her.

She yelled out something at him before she didn`t start running in order to catch up with him. Jellal lightly chuckled at the scene that the two made and decided to go rest in his very comfortable armchair.

"_Those two are quite an interesting pair."_ He thought as another chuckle escaped his lips. He took a book that was on the small table near his chair and proceeded to read it before he had to go back to his royal duties.

**With Natsu and Erza:**

The princess and her champion were through the town and towards the forest that was on the north side of the kingdom. That forest was mostly used by hunters to hunt many animals and wildlife alike, but now it's just a regular forest for people to do whatever they wanted to do in it.

When they reached it. They begin to walk through it until they did not come upon a decent size clearing. Erza walked over to stand on one side of the clearing with her arms crossed over her chest plate a determined look upon her face.

Five meters across from her was Natsu who still had his hands behind his head and was looking bored. They stood like that awhile before Natsu let out a yawn and asked.

"Why are we here again?"

Erza`s eyes narrowed at him a little before saying. "We are going to spare."

Natsu only raised his eyebrow at that."Why?"

"Because you need to stay in shape for the fight tomorrow and I need a distraction. Besides I wanted to have a rematch against you ever since we left Alvarez." She explained as she did some stretches for her arms, neck, and legs.

"Rematch..." Natsu said while giving her a "_are you serious look_".

"If I remember correctly you won the last time." He said while scratching the side of his head.

"We both know that was no victory. So now we shall have our rematch." She said as she did some more stretching.

"You do know this is unfair right? I am basically powerless while you can use your magic to get an upper hand on me." He said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Do you really think that I am so low as to use magic against someone who can`t," Erza said with a glare.

"This will be a pure fight. No magic, no weapons. Just us and our fists." She finished while rolling her shoulders.

Natsu was silent for a few seconds before he didn`t crack his neck and got into his fighting stance. "Okay. I accept your rematch."

Erza smirked as she raised her fists in her own stance. "Hm. That`s more like it."

"Just don`t throw a tantrum after I beat you," Natsu said with a cocky grin.

Erza`s right eye twitched at the comment as she charged at him without a word. She throws a wide right hook which Natsu easily blocked and tried to hit with his own. She ducked under and hit him in a stomach with her left fist.

The force made him slide away from her but it didn`t seem to hurt him too much. He came at her with a flurry of his own attack to which made Erza go on the defense. She successfully blocked another punch from him and was about to counter-attack but a knee to her gut send her flying back and into the air.

She did a backflip in mid-air and landed on one knee while holding her stomach with her right arm. She growled at Natsu who still had that cocky grin on his face.

"_Cocky bastard_." She thought while running at him again. They went back and forth with their blows, with some hitting Natsu and the others hitting Erza. Both of them didn`t hold back in their attacks for they both knew the other wouldn`t.

Pretty soon Erza`s armor was starting to dent from the blows while bruises and cuts were starting to form on Natsu`s body but neither of them was back off. It passed two hours now and they were back in their original position across each other, panting in fatigue. They both took heavy breaths as sweat coated their bodies.

"_This is insane..."_ Erza thought while trying to calm down her breathing. "_I can`t remember the last time someone gave me trouble in a fight like Natsu is doing. This man is truly something else."_

"_Jeez..." _Natsu thought as he was trying to catch his breath. "_Talk about intense. This is the best fight I had since my capture. Looks like princess scarlet over there is no joke after all._

He looked towards her and saw that she was as fatigued as him. He also noticed how stunning she looked with her half wet hair and sweaty face. His eyes widen at the thought that came through his head and shook in order to snap it away.

Erza, however, had a much harder time focusing when her eyes traveled down to his exposed muscular chest and abs. The sun that shined down on Natsu plus the sweat that was running down his body, made him look like one of those godlike figures she only read about in her books.

She as well shook her head.

"_This is no time for this kind of thought."_ They both thought as they got into their stances again.

They waited for one or the other to make a move. Both of them looking for a chance to strike.

"_Stand still... This is truly a remarkable battle. But the moment you let your guard down. You are finished Natsu." _Erza thought as she tighten her fists.

"_This fight is lasting longer then I thought it would. At this point, I will be so sore tomorrow that it will be a challenge getting out of the bed. Okay okay, let's finish this already." _He thought as he charged at Erza with her mimicking his action.

They were about to clash again when Erza tripped over a rock that was somehow there of all places. She let out a surprised yelp which made Natsu`s eyes widen as Erza came towards him. The hard armor plus the fatigue was too much for him as he fell on his back with Erza on top of him.

"_Ugh... That was not what I wanted to happen." _Erza thought with her eyes closed as she set up on something soft and rubbed her head.

Natsu also had his eyes closed from the impact but a bigger trouble he was having, was that he felt like he had extra weight on his chest. "_God I can`t breathe properly. What is sitting on me?._"

They both let out a groan. Slowly both of them opened their eyes and saw each other. Or more like Erza saw Natsu below her and Natsu saw her straddling his chest. Their cheeks became crimson as Erza hurriedly got off Natsu and stood up. Surprising Natsu with her newfound energy.

"(_ahem..._)" She coughed as she pulled a little bit of her hair behind her ear. "T-t-that was m-y-y mistak-e-e..." She stated in embarrassment her cheeks still red.

Silence washed over them again as Natsu got off the ground. He shook off the remains of dirt and grime from his clothes. He then fixed his hair a little bit before turning away from Erza. His own blush calming down.

"You win." He said as he slowly started to walk the way they came from.

...

...

"WHAT!" She yelled out as she runs after him, stumbling on her feet from the fatigue as she made it to his side. "I refuse this kind of victory. We need to finish this the right way. With one standing above the other and the ot-"

"Oh give it a rest already..." Natsu said in a tiered voice interrupting her "We are both tired and dirty from this little spar we had. Not to mention that the sun is almost setting. You wouldn`t want your champion to be so sore that he can`t compete do you?"

Realizing his words were right Erza growled in disappointment before silently accepting his words.

There was an awkward silence between the two as they walked out of the forest and into the two. The people have already gone to their homes so the ally were all empty.

"So... Do we-"

"No..." She instantly said

"Oh come on it was going to be a good joke," Natsu said

"It was going to be something stupid," Erza said

"Naha... You were going to say something stupid." At that Erza only gave him a "_really_" look before looking back towards the path in front of them.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Natsu asked after a moment of silence

"You just did." Was what he got

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT! STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE!" He exclaimed angrily at her.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE!" She yelled at him much louder than he.

They went back and forth for 5 minutes before Erza allowed him to ask his question.

"Why don`t you smile more?" At that, Erza stopped walking and turned to look at him. She raised an eyebrow at his question and answered it with her own.

"What kind of question is that?" She said in an emotionless voice "A warrior such as me does not need to smile in order to achieve her goal."

"I am not talking about a warrior here. I am talking about you." He said pointing at her. Which made Erza even more confused. "I am talking about the smile you give someone when you are pleased with them or when you are truly happy."

"I will be happy once we win this tournament and the whole of Fiore knows my name." She said as she began to walk again.

However, Natsu didn`t budge from his spot. His hands tightening into fists as he softly said. "Will that truly make you feel happy."

Erza paused in her walk, her back to him as he continued. "Will that truly make you whole. To know that the whole world knows who you are but does not care what you think or feel. I know you could care less about any of that but is your image truly worth more than your happiness."

She looked down at the ground. She never truly thought about what it truly meant for her to know that the whole world knew who she was. She always told herself that this was what she wanted and nothing else. To prove herself to her people, to her comrades, to her mother. Nothing else mattered but that. So why was she considering his words?

"I... My happiness is a small price to pay... for the pride that I will bring my people and... My mother." She said finally her tone betraying her words. Natsu stood there for a moment absorbing her words before walking up to her.

"Well then." He said as he got in front of her and give her a toothy grin. "I will just have to make you eat those words."

Erza raised her head to look at him in wonder as he continued. "I don`t know why. But something in my gut is telling me that behind that tough warrior and princess act. You are just a girl that wants to be happy."

Erza`s eyes widen in surprise at his words and was about to say something but he continued on. "So by the end of this tournament, I will make you smile your most honest smile so that when we part ways I will always remember you by it." He finished with a big smile on his face.

Her eyes widen even more at his words. Her eyes started to water and her hands balled into fists as she watch him continue to walk down the path to the castle.

"Natsu Dragneel..." She said in a low voice so that he could not hear her. "I have done you nothing but harm and wrong yet you want to save my happiness and make me give you an honest smile."

A lone tear fell from her right eyes as she watched him go. She looks down at her hands and then back at him.

"But... If you only knew what I`m hiding... Would you still want my smile..."

The walk back to the castle was spent in silence.

**This is shorter then I imagined it to be...**

**Oh well, what can you do...**

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**See ya in the next one.**


	12. One step closer

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Hi everyone. Thank you for all the support in this story, you all make this Naza lover happy.**

**Reviews.**

**Etherious x: "The chapters are getting better as you progress keep up the good work."**

**Me: "Thank you. Glad your enjoying my story."**

**Erasenpai946: "I don`t think he is really fooling himself by thinking that Erza is really going to fufill her side of the deal, I`m pretty sure she won`t release him or sell him as a slave to the blue-haired princess(aka Jellal).**

**Me: "When that chapter arrives. The events in it might suprise you."**

**Guest: "amazing."**

**Me: "Thank you."**

**Marcel: "Awesome, I love your story please take care and give us another part soon."**

**Me: "Thank you for your support and take care aswell."**

**Okay, that`s all of them. I hope you guys like this one and I will see ya at the end of it.**

**Also, I don`t own anything that you might recognize in this chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 12.

One step closer

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" A loud cheering could be heard from the colosseum of Fiore kingdom. The crowd already at full force cheering and are hyped for the semi-finals. The king and the prince were already sitting on their chairs on the balcony.

Below the two on the other balcony set next to each other Princess Cana Alberona and Knightwalker. The two princesses waved at the crowd while smiling. The other two princesses were with their champions. Giving them last instructions and some advice before their match.

"They sure look excited," Gabriel said to his son while looking at the crowd.

"Indeed father," Jellal said over the cheers.

"So are you excited for the match?" Gabriel asked

"Yes, father. I can`t wait to see how princesses champions will do against each other." He said but his eyes fell towards the floor.

Gabriel saw this and placed his hand on his son's shoulder before saying in a concerned voice. "What`s the matter, my boy?"

Jellal looked at his father for a moment before looking towards the colosseum. "Oh, nothing father... It`s just that my mind has been wondering."

"Hmm... It has been doing that ever since you have to meet lady Belserion`s champion. Has it not?" His father asks to which Jellal only nods. The king puts his hand under his chin in thought.

"Don`t worry about it too much. I am sure that with the time you will remember." He said with a warm fatherly smile. Jellal smiled back but still looked kinda stressed.

After awhile Princess Ultear walked through the door with a smile as she set down on one of the empty chairs. She waved at the crowd making the cheers get even louder. Chuckling at the crowd's action, she crossed her legs and relaxed in her chair.

"_Hmm... She sure looks, confidant. I wonder why._" Cana thought as she looked at Ultear. She was awoken from her thoughts as the doors opened again and out of it walked Erza Belserion with a neutral look on her face.

She didn`t say anything to the other princesses, only gave them a nod, and set down on the chair that was on Cana`s right side. So the way that they set was Erza on Cana`s right, Knightwalker on Cana`s left and Ultear on Knightwalkers left side.

"_What`s up with that look Belserion? Where is your look of confidence?" _Knightwalker thought while looking at her Alvarez look alike. Erza paid no mind to the cheers and the looks she was receiving. Her mind was wandering back to yesterday's event. The words Natsu spoke to her about making her smile echoed in her mind ever since she woke up.

"_Did you truly mean what you said Natsu..." _She thought as her eyes narrowed and her hands clutched into fists. A light taps on her armor broke her train of thoughts as she faced towards the one who requested her attention.

"What got you so down?" Cana asked casually with a raised eyebrow.

Erza only blinked at her before narrowing her eyes and looking towards the arena. "You don`t need to worry about it."

Cana did not look satisfied with her answer but decided to not press on and turned her focus on the arena as well.

The first door of the dungeons opened and Natsu walked out. The crowd immediately cheered louder upon seeing the fire dragon slayer as they started to chant his name.

Natsu smiled and waved at the people of Fiore as he made it to the middle of the arena. He then looked at his opponent. It was another male who looked to be as old as him with spiky black-colored hair. He has dark blue eyes with a toned and muscular body. He was shitless with only a pair of black baggy pants and black boots. Around his neck was a chain necklace with what looks like a sword with a stone on it.

Natus`s eyes narrowed into a glare as the other man`s eyes did the same. They didn`t know why but both of them didn`t like each other's guts. For they felt like they are looking at someone they truly despise.

"What you're glaring at pinky?" The man said in an irritated voice.

"I could ask you the same thing," Natsu growled out as he got into his fighting stance. The man copied him as they both waited for the king's order.

"Are both champions ready?" The king called out while looking at the two. They didn`t as much a glanced away from the other's eyes, both of their fists tightening in expectation. The kind raised his hand in the air as the crowd has become silent.

All eyes were on the two combinations in the arena as they waited for the king to utter the words.

"BEGIN!" King's hand came down in a chopping motion. As soon as it ended the two rushed each other.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"_BOOM_" Two fists collided with each other making a shock wave of air rush through the colosseum. Some of the people in the crowd had to put their arms in front of them to stop the wind pressure from blowing in their face while their hair was getting carried by the wind.

The kind, prince, and the princesses were unaffected by it and only continued watching. Ultear was still smiling while Erza watched on with narrowed eyes.

Natsu pulled his left fist back and let it fly towards the other man only for it to meet his opponent's right fist. He then attacked with his right which meets the other man`s left fist. They continued on like this until their arms were but a blur of fists.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

"DORA DORA DORA DORA"

They then took a giant lean back with their fists and both went for a mean right hook.

"ORA!"

"DORA!"

They both connected and set the other flying back a few feet away from each other. Both landing on their backs and then using the momentum of their knockback to backflip onto their feet and into their fighting stances.

...

...

"MORE! WE WANT MORE!" Someone in the crowd shouted out as another roar of cheers went through the colosseum. The prince and king clapped at the equal display of power and skill, showing respect for the fighters.

Cana and Knightwalker clapped as well while both Erza and Ultear smiled at their champions.

"_I knew that he will be able to match strength with him. My mother sure knows how to pick 'em._" Ultear thought as her smile grew.

"_It`s a truly remarkable display. However..._" Erza`s eyes looked over at the black-haired man, her eyebrows lowered at her gaze. "_This man can keep up with Natsu`s enchanted strength. I`m not sure if he can overpower him._"

Both Natsu and his opponent were taking light breaths, both looking at the other with watchful eyes looking for any sort of opening.

"Hehe... You`re pretty strong." Natsu said with a smirk

"Your not a bag of crap yourself." The man replied with a smirk of his own.

Natsu then rared his fist back and poured magic into it, making it go ablaze. The other man`s eyes widen at that and was about to step back but Natsu already charged at him.

"_This will finish it._" Natsu thought as he let his fist fly towards the man`s face. "**FIRE DRAGON`S IRON FIST!"**

"_That is it._" Erza thought with a smirk as she watched Natsu about to knock out his opponent

"**ICE-MAKE: WALL!**"

"_WHAT?_" Both Erza and Natsu thought as a wall of ice appeared in front of the man and blocked Natsu`s fist from reaching his target. Natsu quickly steps back from the ice wall.

He looked on with surprised expression as the wall lovered and revealed his opponent who was on one knee with his left hand touching the sand floor of the arena.

"Ice magic..." Natsu said while narrowing his eyes at the man who glared back.

"Yeah. And you are a fire mage huh... I knew that it was weird that something about you was pissing me off... And now I know why."

"Same here ice boy," Natsu said as his fist was set on fire again.

The crowd watched in silence as they watched in anticipation of what the two champions will do next.

Erza who was stunned for a few seconds at the display of ice mages magic. Turned her head to look at the Ultear with a glare. Ultear only looked back at her with a confidant smirk.

"What? You didn`t really think that this was going to be easy did you?" She said in a mocking voice, making Erza angry before turning her attention towards the battle.

Erza did the same after giving Ultear one of her death glares.

The two royalties that were sitting above them looked down at the two champions with interest.

"A fire versus ice huh... This will be an interesting match." Gabriel said to which Jellal only nodded not taking his eyes off the fight.

Natsu once again charged at the ice-mage with a battle cry.

"**ICE-MAKE: LANCE**" A curved ice lances appeared in front of the ice mage as he sends them towards Natsu who dodged each one and swung at the mage with his flaming fist.

"**ICE-MAKE: WALL**" Another wall of ice appeared, blocking Natsu`s punch again. But this time Natsu was prepared for it for he continued his assault. Sending punch after punch into the ice wall.

"ORA ORA ORA ORA!" The wall begins to crack from the force it was taking as it soon broke. Leaving the ice-mage behind it opened for an attack.

"And now." Natsu begins to say as his entire body becomes ablaze."**FIRE DRAGON`S SWORD HORN**" He uses the momentum after his last punch and headbutts the ice-mage who did not react fast enough.

The mage went flying back as his body rolled around in the sand creating large dust of sand to appear. Natsu smirked in satisfaction while the crowd cheered his name.

Erza smirked as well at the scene in front of her. Although she did not like the way that Natsu just blindly went at the offense. She was glad that his brute strength allowed him to advance forward in this fight.

Ultear was not smiling anymore. She had a neutral expression on her face as she watched the cloud of sand. Knowing that her champion was not out of the fight just yet.

Natsu was about to say something when a giant greatsword made of ice came towards him through the cloud and cut him on his side.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" He yelled out in pain as he quickly stepped back only to be hit with an Ice hammer that was tossed out from the cloud. He was hit right in the face which made him fall onto his back and clunch his hurting head.

Erza was surprised at this sudden retaliation from Ultear`s champion while Ultear`s smile came back onto her face. The cloud cleared and there stood the man holding an ice-made greatsword and another hammer in his hands all while a burn mark on his forehead where Natsu hit him was still steaming.

"HEY! WERE ARE YOUR PANTS?" Someone in the crowd shouted towards him making him look down at himself only to see that he was only in boxers.

"WHAT THE HELL WHERE ARE MY PANTS?" He shouted out and then looked around, trying to find them. The crowd had a mixed reaction to this sudden turn of events. Mostly girls were blushing in embarrassment while most of the males were laughing at the poor ice-mage.

"_Of all the times for your habit to take effect. It had to be now..._" Ultear thought with her cheeks red as she covered her face with her hands. Trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Don`t ask." She simply said to the other princesses who were looking at her for an explanation. Erza didn`t really pay attention to the ice-mages sudden lost of pants, she was looking at Natsu who was still at the ground clutching his face in pain. The cut on his left side was a shallow cut but it was still bleeding, meaning that Natsu will become weaker from blood loss as this match goes on. And who knows what kind of damage that hammer did to him.

She was starting to get worried. Her grip on her armrests tightens even more in worry.

The king and prince sweatdropped at the man`s sudden lack of clothing but ignored it and let the match proceed.

"Thc... Don`t have time for this. I need to finish this guy off." The man said as he dispelled his greatsword but kept the hammer in his right hand. He slowly walked over to still laying Natsu and raised his hammer above his head.

"_Yes... Finish it." _Ultear thought with a wide smile

"_COME ON! GET UP NATSU!_" Erza mentally yelled in her mind as the ice mage readied himself to deliver the final blow.

"**ICE-MAKE: ICE IM-"**

"**ROAR!" **Natsu moved his hands from his face as a blast of flames came out from his mouth hitting the unprepared ice-mage in the chest. The wave of fire sent him back good ten feet away as he fell down while yelling in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" The mage yelled out as his entire upper body was covered in burn marks. The smell of burned flesh reached Natsu`s nose who has gotten up and was holding his left side.

He looked down at it and saw that it was bleeding. He cursed at himself for letting his guard down, after every warning that Erza gave him about not getting too cocky. He still got confident enough to make a mistake. Maybe he should start listening to her advice.

By this time the mage made it to his feet but was doing it slowly in order to not make his burns hurt too much. He knew that even tho his body was cold, they will still hurt and wear him down as this match goes on.

They both stood glaring at each other. Wondering what their next move will be.

"Had enough stripper?" Natsu taunted with a toothy grin.

"Not even close flame-brain. I`m just warming up." The man taunted back.

In the blink of an eye, the two were back at each other's throats. Using an attack after attack in an attempt to knock each other out.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S ROAR"**

"**ICE-MAKE: SHIELD"**

"**ICE-MAKE: SWORD"**

"**FIRE DRAGON`S IRON FIST"**

"**FIRE DRAGON`S FLAME ELBOW"**

"**ICE-MAKE: ICE HAMMER"**

They went back and forth. Each attack countering the other. Before they knew it, they were back in the middle of the arena. Both breathing heavily from their mouths as the crowd cheered them on.

"_This is truly a marvelous fight._" Gabriel thought with a smile on his face."_To think that I will be witnessing such a spectacle in my kingdom. These ladies really want to win._"

Jellal`s mind, however, has wondered away again ever since Natsu used his roar. A flash of images and events ran through his head at a very fast pace as he heard voices in his head.

**FLASHBACK:**

It was night time in the forest near Fiore. A lone boy that appeared to be no older than eight. Was seen slowly walking through it while calling out for help.

"_HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!_" A child's voice echoed in his mind as a shadowy figure approached the boy with a dagger in hand.

The boy let out a fearfully scream as it noticed the figure approaching him. He backed away from it until his back hit the tree. He looked around for a way to escape but a man grabbed him by the neck and slowly lifted him off the ground.

"_Hehehe. Where are you off to kiddo?"_The deep, raspy voice asked conforming it to be a man. The man brought the boy closer to himself as he leans in to whisper into the boy's ear. "_Why don`t you come with me. A cute brat like yourself could serve me well. Oh yes... So well."_

Boy was so terrified to even speak, he couldn`t move as his body helplessly hanged from the man`s hand. The man was about to turn and walk away with him but stopped when he heard something. It sounded like a fire...

Before he knew it, the man was hit with a large wave of fire. The impact and the pain made him release the boy as he was set flying through the woods disappearing from the sight.

A few seconds later. The boy saw a teenager walk into his line of sight. He guessed that it was a teenager because of his hight and the way he held himself. The boy couldn`t see much of the teen`s appearance for he too was covered in shadows.

The teen walked over to the boy before kneeling in front of him. The boy gazed into the pair of onyx orbs as his savior asked him.

"You okay kid?"

**END OF FLASHBACK:**

Jellal came back to reality when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked over to his father and saw him look at him in concern.

"Son. Are you okay?" He asked.

"Y-yes... I am fine." He cursed himself for stuttering.

"Are you sure? Your face is pale and your sweating. Do you want something to eat?" Gabrial asked his son in a worried tone.

"Some wine would be nice," Jellal said as he looked down at the two fighters who still have not moved from their spots.

Gabriel nodded and ordered one of the servants to bring him wine. Meanwhile, on the princess's balcony, all four of them were watching the fighters with anticipation. Wondering who will make the next move.

"_Hmm... This is really intense. There is no telling what could happen next. But no matter whoever wins I know that my champion will crush them. Just like it will do so to miss Knightwalker over here." _Cana thought as her eyes briefly went onto Knightwalker before sighing. "_Man... All this intensity is making me thirsty. I need a drink._"

"_Natsu... Your power is truly amazing. Show me more of it."_ Knightwalker thought with a smile as she looked down at the fire dragon slayer.

"_They are evenly matched... At the rate things are going, it will all come down to one big move from both of them. Then the last man standing will win._" Ultear thought while her hand was holding her chin.

Erza was seen leaning forward in her chair slightly with her hands clutched together on her lap. She did not expect for someone to match Natsu`s 40% power this well, especially ice-mage. And the way things are going she will be forced to give Natsu more of his power back.

"_No... It`s too early to decide." _Erza said as she watched her champion breathe heavily. Cuts and bruises on his body definitely were wearing off on his body. As his legs shook in pain from standing. The ice-mage was no different from his own set of wounds. The burn marks now covered most of his body as it shook in pain.

She saw them both raised their heads and glared at each other. A spark flashed in their eyes.

"_This will decide it."_ Both thought as they got into their stances and prepared their spells.

"**DRAGON SLAYER`S SECRET ART..."** Natsu`s flames begin to circle around him as he spread his arms out.

"**ICE-MAKE UNLIMITED..." **a large number of blades were created around the mage. They all turned towards Natsu`s direction as his flames circled faster around him.

"**CRIMSON LOTUS: EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!" **Natsu swung his arms in circular fashion creating a powerful torrent of flames.

"**ONE-SIDED CHAOTIC DANCE!" **the blades went towards Natsu as bot released their attack at the same time.

The two attacks were flying towards each other with everyone watching while holding in their breath. When the two attacks clashed the fire ate through the ice blades and melted every single one of them.

"WHAT THE?" The ice-mage said in shock and pretty soon that shock turned to despair as the torrent of fire hit him head-on.

Ultear watched in shock and dread as the torrent of flames consumed her champion. A few seconds after that the area were he stood exploded shaking the whole colosseum and making people take cover.

The wind pressure it created forced everyone on the two balconies to shield their eyes. When it all died down and the smoke cleared, they saw Ultear`s champion laying on his back, his arms and legs spread with multiple new burn marks on his body. Thankfully his boxers survived somehow.

"_Oh thank god he is alive._" Ultear thought as she let out a breath that she was holding and placed a hand on her fast-beating heart.

"_Damn it... I was able to block some of the damage with my shield. But It took more out of me then I thought... I can`t even move." _The mage thought as he lay there and was looking up in the sky. "_I am sorry Ultear... I failed you._"

Natsu then fell down on one knee as he was breathing heavily. His head felt dizzy from the loss of blood but he still was able to think and not blackout. He didn`t feel his arms and hands tho and his legs hurt like hell.

"_It will be an intense sore morning._" He thought to himself with a small chuckle

The king walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked at now bloodied and hurt fighters. He then raised his hand in order to get everyone's attention. When he received it he pointed towards the arena and on Natsu.

"The winner is the champion of Princess Belserion and the first finalist in the tournament." After that, everyone in the colosseum exploded in a loud, powerful, roar of cheers.

"NATSU! NATSU! NATSU!" They chanted as Natsu weakly raised his fist in a show of appreciation.

The prince, the king, and the princesses all clapped at Natsu`s performance. Erza had a small smile on her face, proud of Natsu for being able to win this hard-earned victory. However, she was also glad that no one noticed that her right shoulder and Natsu`s collar were glowing red.

However, one person did see it.

"_So that`s how she does it."_ Erza Knightwalker thought as she continued to clap her hands.

Natsu slowly got back to his feet and very gingerly walked towards the downed ice-mage. When he reached him he kneeled by his head and got in his line of vision.

"What do you want pinky..." Came from the ice-mage whose voice sounded raspy and in pain. "Came to rub in your victory?"

Natsu didn`t say anything as he slowly slipped his arms below the ice mages body and very carefully lifted him up in a bride style carry. The crowd went silent as they watched Natsu carry his defeated opponent towards the ice-mages side of the arena.

"What are you doing?" He weakly said as he looked up at Natsu.

"Someone has to get your ass to the healers so I am doing it," Natsu told him without looking down at him.

"But why?"

"Because you gave me one of the best fights of my life."After that Natsu arrived in front of the dungeon doors where the guards took the ice-mage from his arms and told him that they will make sure he gets help.

"Hey. What`s your name?" Natsu asked as the guards carefully swung each of ice mages arms over their shoulders.

"Gray... Gray Fullbuster." He answered him

"I am Natsu Dragneel. I hope that one day we get to fight again." He said while giving Gray his signature toothy smirk.

"You bet we will... And next time. You won`t beat me." Natsu said as he glared at Natsu.

"Yeah, sure whatever you say stripper." after that Natsu turned and slowly walked away. He knew that Gray wanted to say something back at him. But probably thought better of it since he is in so much pain.

The crowd cheered in the show of respect for Natsu`s good deed as Natsu slowly made his way towards his side of the arena. When he finally made it there, the two guards that were standing there swung his arms over their shoulders and carried him away from the colosseum.

When he was out of sight. Erza stood up with a mission to see how bad he is hurt. But just as she was about to open the door Ultear stepped in her way. The two women stared each other down as if there are bitter rivals before Ultear extended her hand towards Erza.

"Congratulations to you Belserion... You have a very powerful and good-hearted champion." Ultear spoke with honesty and respect. Erza looked at her face then down to her hand before firmly grasping her hand in a handshake.

"Thank you, princess Milkovich. Your champion did well also." With that Ultear stepped aside to let Erza pass. Erza walked through the doors and towards her champion`s cell. Ultear following afterward towards her own.

Leaving Cana and Knightwalker to wait for their own champions match. The king and the prince both had a satisfied smile on their faces as Gabriel took a sip from his glass of wine.

"Ahh... Did you see that Jellal? The power to slay a dragon... It was beautiful." Gabriel said to his son who nodded."Now all that is left for him to do is-."

"Father with your permission I would like to have another lunch with princess Belserion," Jellal said suddenly after finishing his third glass of wine.

"Oh? You don`t want to see the last match of semi-finals?" Gabriel asked his son with a raised eyebrow.

"I would like to get to know my possible future wife better. So I beg you, father... Allow me to do this." Jellal asked in a hopeful voice.

Gabriel took a moment to think about it but ultimately told him to go ahead. But that he will also have to do the same with the winner of the last match.

Jellal bowed his head at his father and give him a quick thank you before walking away from the balcony. Gabriel snapped his finger towards the servent and hold out his glass for a refill. When his glass was full he took a sip of it and looked around the colosseum at the still hyped crowd.

"You finally remembered, haven`t you Jellal." The king took a big sip from his glass.

**A/N: Wooooooooo! Done.**

**I hope you enjoyed and that you don`t mind a few hiccups here and there.**

**Follow**

**Favorite**

**And Review**

**And remember to wash your hands and I`ll see you all in the next one.**

**See ya.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Hi everyone. How are you doing? I am good to thanks for asking. Now in this and the next chapter, we will be seeing more bonding time between Natsu and Erza as well as some other interesting parts of the story.**

**Now for reviews:**

**Meazm: "Interesting."**

**Me: "I agree."**

**Layla MT: "Uy Uy Uy! No pense encontrarme con una historia tan interesante! Adoro a esta pareja asi que gracias! Por esta historia! Y mas! Porfavor!**

**Cuidate. Mucho!**

**Me: "I have no idea what you wrote but thank you."**

**Erasenpai946: "The story is cool, but I think that fight was very hard for Gray, his magic is naturally weaker than Natsu`s (which is magic to kill dragons) he shouldn`t have given that much work if with the shit of Gray he had work imagine if one of the other champions is Guildarts? He will be slaughtered.**

**PS: I can`t like this Jellal, for some reason this character irritates me.**

**Me: "I see what you mean. I don`t like Jellal in general."**

**And that`s all. Enjoy.**

Chapter 13.

Second meeting with the prince

"I told you not to get to confidant," Erza said with her arms crossed over her chest plate. She was standing at Natsu`s bedside in castles infirmary, looking at him with narrowed eyes and disapproving look.

Natsu who has been treated by castles medic/doctor. Had bandages wrapped around his midsection and left bicep, since those were the place`s that had more serious wounds. Other cuts and bruises that he received throughout the match were already healed thanks to his enchanted healing.

"Yeah yeah, you don`t need to rub it in," Natsu said in an irritated voice as he laid his head back onto the pillow.

"Honestly you just can`t help yourself can you," Erza said with a soft shake of her head.

"Hey it all worked out didn`t it?" He simply said while looking at the ceiling. "Besides that was probably one of the best fights I had in a long time."

Erza`s eyes widen as if she was struck by a slap. Did she just hear that right? Did he just say that Ultear`s champion gave him a better fight than her? Oh, that did not sit well with her.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? THAT I DID NOT PUT UP MUCH OF A FIGHT FOR YOU TO BE HAPPY WITH OUR`S?" She yelled at him making him jump from a sudden loud noise.

"OUCH! JEEZ WOMAN! STOP SHOUTING ALL THE TIME!" He yelled back before answering her question. "And no that`s not what I meant. I`m saying that Gray pushed me far. Even if I did only had 40% of my true power It was still not an easy fight to win. However when we fought you surprised me at how strong you are, so if it came down to me having to pick between you or Gray for another fight. I would pick you in a heartbeat." He finished with a wide smile on his face.

Erza`s cheeks flushed red at his words. All of her anger at him dissipating like that as she looked away from him to hide her blush. When she was sure it calmed down enough, she turned her head in his direction again.

"There is still another one to-" her words were cut off by the sound of someone approaching them. She looked behind her and saw two guards armed with spears walking towards them. They stopped a few feet away from the bed Natsu was resting in.

"The prince wishes to see you." The guard on the right said to them.

Natsu saw this as none of his business said. "See ya later princess. I hope you and the prince have a pleasant meeting." He then put his hands behind his head and let out a relaxed breath through his nose.

"Both of you..." the other guard added.

At that, both Erza`s and Natsu`s eyes widened slightly. The prince wanted to see both of them? Why? They looked at each other and then back at the guards who only shrugged their shoulders as if saying "we don`t know either".

**A few minutes later in a hallway:**

Erza and Natsu followed by the two guard`s were both making their way towards the dining room. Natsu although his injuries were not too serious, walked at a slower pace than usual just to be sure not to reopen his wounds. Erza while she was wondering why would the prince want to see both of them, matched Natsu`s pace in case (and worry) his wounds do reopen.

"So what do you think this is all about?" Natsu whispered to Erza as they approached the door of the dining room.

"Not sure... But if I had to guess he will probably want to have another lunch with me and congratulate you on making it to the finals." Erza answered him not looking away from her path.

Natsu nodded accepting the answer as the two guards that were in front of the doors, nodding their heads to which the ones that were following the Natsu and Erza nodded back. They opened the doors of the dining room for Natsu and Erza to which the two.

The doors closed behind them and Natsu let out a whistle as he looked around the room.

"Beautiful isn`t it?" A voice made Natsu look towards a long table that to him looked like it was too big for this one room. At the crow of it sat Jellal who was looking at them with a soft smile, behind him a picture of him and his father still as eye-catching as the first time Erza saw it. "The room... It`s Beautiful is it not?"

"I guess..." Natsu answered slowly to which Erza lightly tapped his shoulder and pointed down signaling him to bow. He did so as Erza did the same bowing their heads to the prince.

"Oh, there is no need for that you two." He said while shaking his hand."Please come and join me at the table our meals will be prepared shortly."

Both Erza and Natsu looked at each other with a confused look before doing what he asked. Just like last time Erza set down opposite of him while Natsu took a seat next to hers, making Jellal sweatdrop at their distrust towards him.

"You know you both can sit closer," Jellal said with a smile.

"Thank you Jellal but we are fine right where we are. Right Natsu?" She said her eyes moving to her champion, who nodded in agreement.

"R-right..." He stuttered a little bit because of the awkwardness in the room.

Pretty soon the maides arrived with their food or in Natsu`s case the mountain of food. Both Jellal and Erza were given a standard lunch consisting of tomato soup as the appetizer, mashed potatoes with spinach sauce, and cooked chicken legs for the main meal. While Natsu got the same platter of food Erza got him yesterday.

"_I guess the remembered how much he can eat_." Erza thought while looking at the mountain of food in front of her.

"_That`s all for Natsu? There is no way he`ll be able to eat all that._" Jellal thought in shock while looking at the platter in front of Natsu.

"_I get food as well. Sweet."_ Natsu thought while licking his lips and was about to dive in but Erza grabbed his right hand and put something in it. He looked down at it and saw that it was a fork and a knife. He pouted at the silverware before accepting it and begin to eat from his platter at a slow pace.

Erza begins to eat as well after she saw her champion eat his food slowly and respectably.

Jellal who was watching their interaction gave out a quiet chuckle at their little show before joining them in eating. The three of them set in silence as they ate their respected meals. Jellal and Erza finished their soups as Natsu finished just about the half of the platter and was now working on the rest.

"So... How are you feeling Natsu?" Jellal asked politely as he looked at the dragon-slayer.

Natsu swallowed the food that was in his mouth before answering. "A little sore but I will be fine for tomorrow's finals your majesty."

"I am glad to hear it," Jellal said while smiling at him. He turned his attention to his other guest in the room. "And how are you on this fine day my lady?"

"I am fine Jellal. Thank you for asking." Erza said in a polity tone.

"I hope your opponent did not leave any permanent damage on you Natsu," Jellal said once again turning his attention to the pink-haired man.

"Nah he didn`t damage anything too serious. But I am really happy that I got to fight him." Natsu said with a toothy grin.

"Oh? Why is that?" Jellal asked placing his hand underneath his chin.

"He gave me one of the best fights after so long," Natsu answered him making Erza glare at him but he didn`t notice it. "Speaking of him. Do you maybe know how he`s doing?"

"He was taken care of by our healers. His burn marks did take quite a long time to heal but I was informed that he had made a full recovery. He and his princess are probably on their way back to their kingdom." Jellal answered him at which Natsu nodded.

Erza watched their talk with a skeptical look. She observed Jellal and how calmly he talked to Natsu as if he was an old friend of his and Natsu was just being his usual self. This made her wonder why was the young prince acting so... unnatural.

From what she knew the prince should be all about their image and high caliber of royalty just like her. The way that the prince was acting made her feel suspicious and... well uneasy.

"My lady?" The voice of Jellal broke her out of her thought as she saw both Natsu and Jellal looking at her. She blushed from their steers and said. "Pardon?"

"I was asking if you are excited for tomorrow," Jellal said to Erza to which Erza proudly said. "I am not excited. I am confident that my champion will win no doubt about it."

"Hmm... You must have a lot of fate in him then." Jellal said looking from Erza to Natsu and back to her.

"He has proven thas far how strong he is. I would be ashamed if I had no fate in him." Natsu smiled at Erza, pleased with the words she was saying.

"Mhm... And what will happen after you win?" Jellal asked Erza to which she raised her eyebrow

"What do you mean Jellal? I will be engaged to you, return to my kingdom to tell my people of the news, and then we will make plans from there." She said simply as if it was an obvious answer.

"No... I`m not asking about that. I was asking what will you do with your champion." Jellal said looking over at Natsu.

Natsu`s eyebrow rose at the question and locked eyes with Erza who`s eyes have slightly widened. They stared at each other for a second before Erza turned her gaze towards Jellal and said. "Why I will grant him his freedom."

Jellal was surprised by this. He has read about Alvarez's kingdom and how cruel and unfair its rules were towards his fellow man. But to hear a princess of that kingdom, an amazon warrior maiden of all people, say that she will free someone that`s below her was truly a surprise.

"Really? But I thought you don`t show mercy to man." Jellal said in a curious voice.

Erza crossed her arms over her chest plate and looked at Jellal with a serious look."That may be true. But Natsu here has earned the right for his freedom, so what kind of a princess would I be if I did not give my champion what he wants."

"I see..." Jellal strokes his chin in thought before asking another question. "And if he loses?"

Erza`s face softens and a conflicted look morphed on her face. What if he losses? That question repeated in her head, filling her with doubt as her hands begin to lightly shake. Natsu saw her in begin to shake and a worried look crossed his face. He did not know why but seeing her like this made him feel bad with guilt.

She was supposed to be strong, stubborn, and cool-headed. Not doubtful and worried, his chest felt slightly at pain from watching her hands slowly begin to shake more. So he decided to end her worry.

"I won`t." He said full of determination as Jellal looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Natsu`s eyes never left Erza as her eyes locked with hers. Her doubt seemed to wash away the more she stared into his onyx orbs that were burning with determination. Cleansing her from her worries.

"I won`t" He repeated in a strong tone.

Erza calmed down as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her eyes moved back to Jellal and gave him her answer. "He won`t lose."

Jellal looked between her and Natsu and couldn`t help but let a small grin drag across his lips.

"_These two... They are really something special_" Jellal nodded showing them that he is satisfied with their answer before going back to his meal. Making them return to theirs as well.

I wasn˛t long when they finished their own respected meals and the prince asked from refreshments. The maids took their plates and platter away as they brought a bottle of wine with there glass cups. They poured the wine into each of their cups and left the bottle on the table in case they wanted more.

The prince raised his cup into the air and called for a toast. "Let`s make a toast to your victory tomorrow."

"To Victory." Both Erza and Natsu cheered they both hit Jellal`s cup with the edges of their own and then doing the same with each other. The three of them drank from their respective cups and placed them down when they were finished.

"Mmm... Now my lady. If you would please excuse us I would like to ask Natsu something." Jellal said at which Erza only raised her eyebrow in a confused look. She was about to ask about it but Jellal said before her. "In private."

This got Erza really curious. She was about to pressure on in Jellal telling her what he wanted from Natsu but her champion placed his hand on her armored shoulder, making her look over at him.

"Hey let him have this. If he tries something I can always kick his ass." Natsu whispered to her so that Jellal couldn`t hear.

She looked over at Jellal then back at Natsu before sighting and leaned closer to Natsu so she was whispering in his ear. "Whatever he asks you or tells you. You will reply it back to me okay?"

"Yeah sure." He said simply as Erza stood up, gave Jellal a respectful bow, and left through the door they came from.

Natsu looked over at Jellal as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay so... What would you like to know?"

"Tell me Natsu... What do you remember from nine years ago?" with that Jellal `s trip down the memory lane begin.

**At Alvarez kingdom (throne room):**

The queen of Alvarez kingdom Irene Belserion set on her throne as she read a white scroll. It was a message from her daughter in which she wrote about how she made it to the final round of the tournament as well as how Natsu fought.

A smile touched her face when at the praises that came with the message. Who would have known that her daughter of people in Alvarez, would be praising a man? It only showed her that her plan was slowly working.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of metal clicking from movement. She looked up and saw the leader of her daughter`s brigade Kagura Mikazuchi. The young woman has become really busy ever since her mentor went away. All of Erza`s duties fell on her shoulders as such life was not easy for her, but she was honored that her mentor has put so much trust in her and as long as she can make her big sister happy, she was happy.

Kagura arrived in front of her queen`s throne and bowed down on one knee to her. "My queen.."

Irene smiled at the young amazon before saying. "Now now Kagura. None of that you are like a second daughter to me. There is no need to be so formal."

Kagura`s cheeks flushed red at being called daughter by the queen. The joy and glee build up in her chest as said: "Thank you my que- I mean Irene."

The queen`s smiled again as she read the last piece of her daughter's message. She then motioned for Kagura to come closer (to which she did) and extended the latter towards her.

"What is this?" Kagura said taking the latter from Irene and started to read.

"It`s a latter from Erza," Irene said as she took another scroll from the pile beside her throne. As Kagura read the thought the latter her smile grew and grew on her face. When she was finished she rolled up the scroll and said in an excited voice. "She is in the finals. The only thing that is left is tomorrow for her champion to win and she will be coming back."

Irene nodded "And it would seem that our little plan is work as we have planed."

"Yes, I have read all the praise. Do you really believe that she will be able to figure it out?" Kagura asked her queen with a skeptical look.

"If she doesn't then I will talk some sense into her," Irene said from behind the scroll. "But I am really pleased with the way all of this turning out. Aren`t you?"

"I am..." Kagura answered.

"Splendid now. What do you have to report Kagura?" She said going back into her "Queen mode".

**A/N: That`s all from this chapter everyone.**

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**See ya.**


	14. Showing her a good time

**Her champion**

**A/N: Hey boys and girls of Fairy tail. I`m back and feeling better than ever. Now you are all probably wondering why I haven`t updated until now. Well, let`s just say that with the reopening of gym`s and my sleep ****routine**** being basically none existent. I was constantly tired for last week or so.**

**But I am battered now. Also, I might start updating this story a lot more because I want to finish it soon so I can focus on other future stories I have in mind. But you guys don`t have to worry about that for now just enjoy the new chapter.**

**I don`t own anything of what you might recognize except a few OC`s.**

**Okay now for the reviews:**

**Erasenpai946: "Did Irene`s plan and make Erza fall in love with Natsu?"**

**Me: "Not telling (Chuckles)."**

**Layla MT: "Oops oops oops! Without thinking of encountering such an interesting story! I love this couple so thanks! For this story! And more! Please!**

**I don`t know if it translated well, but that`s what I meant. XD and thanks for updating!()(_)"**

**Me: "And thank you for liking the story. It means a lot."**

**Okay that is all of them enjoy.**

Chapter 14

Showing her a good time

Erza Belserion was leaning against one of the pillars that supported the hallway to the dining room, her arms crossed with her left hand`s fingers lightly tapping at her armored arm in a show of impatience and frustration.

It has been half an hour since she left Natsu and Jellal to talk between each other and she was starting to lose the last bit of patience she has. Now not saying that she was an impatient woman but with time being that its in the middle of the noon, she wanted to use this time in order to help Natsu train so that he is ready for his last match tomorrow.

The guards who were in front of the dining room swallowed the lump in their throats at the face that the princess of Alvarez was making. They knew very well what that look meant, with both of them having wives and being with them for years now. They recognized it as a look a woman gives you when you make her wait.

And it's rude to keep a lady waiting. They could only pray for the poor bastard`s safety.

The door of the dining room finally opened and Natsu walked out of them with a thoughtful look on his face. He appeared to be so lost in thought that he almost bumped into Erza who has moved from her spot and now stood in front of him.

"Oh! Sorry almost didn`t see you there." He chuckled

"Hmph. Well, you sure took your sweet time." She said in an irritated voice. "What were you even talking about in there?"

Natsu only smiled at her. "Sorry princess. Jellal said I`m not allowed to talk about it."

Erza raised an eyebrow at that and was about to question him some more but he started to walked past her and started to make his way down the hall. She quickly followed after him and walked beside him when she reached him.

"So. Got anything planned for today, your majesty." Natsu asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. We will be going into the forest again to train for your final match tomorrow." She said while looking at some paintings they were passing by.

Natsu nodded in understanding. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now." She answered.

**15 minutes later:**

Erza and Natsu are now seen walking down the same street they walked yesterday towards the forest. On their way there some of the people who recognized them cheered waved, and clapped at them while some congratulated Natsu on making it to the finals.

Natsu felt pride build in his chest as he smiled at the crowd even waved back at some of them. Basking in his glory. Erza watched him from the corner of her eye and let out a small smile. She knew that feeling all too well. The feeling of pride burning in your chest, people showing respect for what you do, and more importantly, you feel like you have accomplished something. These are feelings she lives for.

"Oy! Is that a smile I see?" She was broken from her thoughts by Natsu`s voice. Her eyes widen as her gaze focuses on his face which now sported a smug grin on it.

She narrows her eyes at him and looks away. Telling him that is not with a flush of red on her cheeks. Her heart skipped a few beats making her put her left hand over her chest as a warm feeling spread through it.

"_What is this feeling? I don`t understand it... Maybe mother will once I return to Alvarez."_ Erza thought to herself. She looks at Natsu again who was smiling innocently at her while chuckling a little, making him look cute. "_DAMN IT! STOP THINKING STUFF LIKE THAT!"_

"Hey, you alright princess? Your face is kinda red." Natsu said while pointing at her cheek.

"It`s nothing. I`m fine." She said once again turning away from him with her blush increasing.

Natsu who didn`t know what to make of her current behavior only shrugged his shoulders and was about to talk again when something caught his attention. His eyes narrow as he inhales through his nose before slowly letting it out through it.

"Hey, Erza." He says in a serious voice. Surprising her more so that he called her by her name making her cheeks flush red again. "Can you give me ten golden coins please?"

Erza looked at him questioningly before she spots a bakery in front as they approached it. Her face fell as she gave him a "really" look before using her magic to make ten golden coins appeared in her palm.

"_His stomach is truly bottomless. After everything he ate at lunch, he is still hungry. Sigh... Well, that`s what I get for having a dragon slayer as my champion._" Erza thought as she hands him the money.

Natsu takes it and walks towards the bakery at an increased pace making Erza speed up hers as well. Once they were in front of it Erza thought that he will just walk in and buy everything he could but to her surprise, he instead moved towards the right end of the building where something was leaning against it.

Or rather someones. Two nine-year-old children were leaning against the bakery building with their knees pressed to their chests as they had one arm wrapped around them and the other extended in front of them, asking people for money as they pass them.

The children where both boys and appeared to be twins with matching brown hair and face structure. The only thing separating them from one another were their eyes. One had green while the other blue and both of them wore a matching set of torn shirts and dirty torn pants with muddy white shoes.

The twin's eyes sadden as another passenger passed without as much as a glance in their direction. Their gaze fell onto the floor as tears threaten to fall from their eyes. The shadow fell over them making them look up. There stood Natsu looking with a soft smile on his face, he crouched down and took the green-eyed boys hand.

He placed five gold coins into it and then did the same with his brother. The boys looked at him with wide eyes than to each other before going back to him. They were shocked by the act of kindness that they couldn`t utter a word even if their mouths moved.

Natsu chuckled at the two before ruffling their hair and giving them a big smile. "Go buy yourselves something to eat and drink. You need it more then I do."

The boys looked at the money in their hands than back at Natsu, their eyes teared up as they stood up and give Natsu a hug around his waist while saying. "Thank you, big bro."

Then they went into the bakery to buy themselves something to eat and drink. Leaving Natsu with a warm smile on his face.

Erza stood behind watching the whole thing unfold before her. She did not expect Natsu to have such a caring side to him. She notices him start walking again to which she came to match his pace.

"That was... Really sweet of you." She says to him. Not caring that it was her money he gave away.

"Thanks... Sorry about giving your money away. I`ll make it up to you." He said in a serious voice.

Erza shook her head before saying. "No, it's okay. You don`t have to, I would have done the same thing."

Natsu only nodded looking straight forward but it seemed like he wasn`t focused on where he was going. Erza saw this and decided to ask him about it. "What`s wrong?"

Natsu stopped. He didn`t say anything for a while and just stood there when he finally found his voice. "They remind me of myself when I was their age. When my father left... I... Felt so broken without him so alone... I never want anyone to experience what I have. When I find him, I will hug him and then give him the biggest ass-whooping I ever gave to anyone." He shouts the last part out making some of the passengers that were walking look at him.

Erza stood there silent as Natsu continued on his way. She looks down at the ground with a sad look. She knew how he feels and she understood very well. Throughout her childhood she never had a father, nor did she really had a mother. She grew up through servants, maids, and combat trainers in order to be a perfect daughter that her mother would be proud of.

Her mother did show some love for her after she has won her first tournament but it was mostly for people to see that she was a caring person. Even today her image is more important than her family.

Erza`s hands balled into fists at the thought of how little her mother cared about her. But her mind than went back to what Natsu said and she realized that to Natsu. His father meant everything to him, he was the one who thought him everything he knows. Like a true parent should do.

"_Even tho I have everything a normal person would want." _She thought to herself. "_I can`t help but feel jealous of you Natsu. You had a parent that cared about you, that`s more __precious__ than anything I could ever hope to have."_

She looked down at her fist. Feeling of guilt burning in her chest at the thought of what she will have to confess to Natsu about her promise to him.

"_Why do I feel guilty about this? After everything, I put him through, after everything I said to him. Why am I..._" she looks at Natsu`s back as he walks away.

"_caring for him..."_

"Hey, you coming?" She hears him yell out to her. Erza snapped from her thoughts and quickly followed after him, hoping he didn`t see tears running down her cheeks.

**4 hours later:**

Their training ended in a draw again. However, Natsu knew the entire time that Erza`s mind was troubled by something. He didn`t ask for he knew that the amazon will not answer him and just went along with her training routine.

They were walking in silence when Natsu heard the sound of cheering and music. He looked to his left and saw a row of stands with various items and festival games. Plush toys and treats were displayed inside of them.

"What is going on over there?" He asked curiously, stopping in his walk.

Erza stopped as well and looked over to where he was looking. "It seems its some kind of a festival."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now that I think about it the prince did mention something about it but I didn`t really pay attention to it." She said as she looks at the various stands and games people were playing. She was about to start to walk away when she felt someone grab her wrist and starts to drag her towards the festival.

"Natsu! What are you doing?" She asked while trying to not trip over her feet.

"Come on. I think we deserve to have a little bit of fun." He said with a smile as he dragged her into the crowd of people.

They played various games in which Natsu won most of them that earned him food and a red dragon plushy toy. Until it was almost midnight they stayed at the festival which was (even Erza admits) really fun, so much so that she even giggled a couple of times.

"Ah... That was fun." Natsu said with a happy smile as he held his dragon plushy to his chest.

"Tho I am not usually the one who likes these kinds of things. It was entertaining."

They walked in silence until they didn`t reach the door of the castle. Natsu stepped in front of her with a grin on his face. Erza raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well princess this is it. Tomorrow we become the winners." He said to her. "And as much as it was rough these past few days with you. You`re not as bad as I thought."

Erza was about to say something but he continued on. "I will make sure I make you proud and make people know who it was that brought me to them. So that the whole kingdom knows what a great person you are."

Erza`s eyes widen as her heart jumped at his words. Feeling of warmth spread through her body as her eyes started to water. No one has ever said or promised to do such a thing for her. It warmed her heart up knowing that there was someone who cared about her wishes and dreams.

"Here take this." He placed the small dragon plushy in her hands, surprising her once again. "I think you will find a better place for him than I can."

He smiled warmly at her before turning around and walking inside the castle, towards his cell.

Erza watched him go until he didn`t disappear behind the castle doors. She looked down at the plushy in her hands, the warm feeling in her chest becoming stronger.

"_Why..." _a teardrop fell from her eye as she hugged the toy close to herself "_Why are you making me feel like this..._"

At that moment a truly genuine smile appeared on her beautiful face.

**A/N: There we go. I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Now for the next chapter, I will need all you`re help. Please write in reviews about who do you want to see against Natsu.**

**1\. is for Cana**

**2\. is for Knightwalker**

**I really can`t decide so, please help me out here.**

**Thank you all so much for the support and as always I will see ya later.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Hi everyone. It`s been quite sometime now since I wrote down an update for this story. I have been busy trying to improve my daily lifestyle as well as trying to convince my boss to get me my own laptop since I no longer have the other one.**

**I hope you guys don`t mind the wait. I don`t know when the updates will be from now on. Although I will be going on vacation after this month which means I will have more time to write, hopefully...**

**So anyway here is the new chapter and after we finish this last round of the tournament. We are pretty much halfway done with this story.**

**Also, I will not be responding to review`s in this chapter since in the last chapter we had a poll to see which princess`s champion will fight Natsu. And speaking of which.**

**Cana: 5**

**Knightwalker: 4**

**Wow. I did not expect them to be this close to each other in terms of votes. But as you can see Cana won by one point. Thank you guys for helping me out and I`ll talk to you guys at the end. **

**Enjoy.**

**P.S.: I do not own anything from Fairy tail, only my OC`s. **

Chapter 15

Final round part 1

Introduction`s

"_Sound of the crowd cheering."_

Natsu grinned at the people`s cheers as he was preparing for his fight behind the gates that would let him out into the colosseum. He stretched his legs, arms, back, and neck getting a satisfied "_POP" _sound from some of them.

"You seem excited." He looked over his shoulder at Erza who was leaning with her back on the stone wall. She had her helmet off, leaving her long scarlet hair on full display with one bang covering her right eye.

Natsu gives her a toothy grin as he stretched his arms some more. "Why wouldn`t I be? I get to fight a guy who just like me, made it all the way to the finals of the tournament.

Erza watched him stretch and blushed whenever his muscles would flex with ever stretch he did. She averted he gate away from him in order to hide her blush. When it calmed down a little bit she cleared her throat before saying.

"Just don`t forget what I told yo-."

"Yeah yeah be careful bla bla bla, don`t get too cocky and all that kind of stuff," Natsu said while waving his right hand in uncaring motion causing Erza to frown at him. She walked over to him and put her hand gently on his shoulder, making him look at her in surprise since she never touched him in such a way before. Usually, she would hit him or yell at him for disobeying her orders or advice.

She surprised him, even more, when she gives him a small grin before saying. "Kickass out there."

He blinked in surprise before grinning back at her. "You got it."

She lowered her hand away from his shoulder and started to pour her magic into her dragon mark, making it glow red in color. Natsu felt his power returning to him as his body as the collar around his neck glowed the same color. When it died down Natsu was smirking as he punched his right fist into his left palm, making a little bit of fire form from the impact.

"Ahhh it feels good to burn again." He said in a happy tone.

"I gave you a little bit more of your power, just to make this finale a little bit more in our favor," Erza said as the glow died down. She then gave him a small pat on the shoulder for good luck before turning to leave.

"Wait," Natsu said making Erza stop and look back at him. She watched him take off his scarf from around his waist since the collar around his neck chocked him when he wore it around it and present it to her. "Here. Keep it safe for me."

Erza looked at it in confusion before taking the offered piece of clothing with one hand. She looked at in confusion before looking back at Natsu and nodding her head. Telling him she will keep it safe.

He nodded back and went back to doing some more warm-up stretches before his fight. Erza gazed at him for a few more seconds before leaving Natsu alone. When she exited the door she took the time to study the white, scale patterned scarf of her champion in her hand. She took it in her other hand as well in order to inspect it more closely.

"_Why would he give me this? Does it mean something to him._" She thought as she made her gauntlets disappear from her hands, letting her feel the fabric of it. She was surprised at how soft it was as her fingers moved over it gently.

"_Wow. What kind of material is this? It`s so soft and warm..."_ She then looked around to see if anyone was around or looking at her. When she saw no one she begins to wrap the white scarf around her neck.

When she finished placing it comfortably around it, she felt warmth and comfort wash over her body, making her feel safe and warm inside. She smiled while looking at the scarf, lightly caressing it with her hand. She then nuzzled the scarf softly before inhaling the scent of the white fabric.

"_Mmm... It smells so sweet."_ She said with a smile and closed eyes. But quickly opened them up as she blushed so hard that her head could be mistaken as a tomato.

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? YOU ARE A PRINCESS OF ALVAREZ! THINK ABOUT YOUR IMAGE WOMAN!" _She thought to herself as her hands gripped the scarf in a way to take it off. But the feeling of the soft fabric of it made her stop in her action.

"_Okay, maybe I can wear it a little bit longer._" She thought while beginning to walk towards the balcony. Not noticing the presence of another red-haired woman behind her.

**A few minutes later at the balcony:**

Erza walked through the door and saw Cana already sitting there. Cana was lightly waving at the crowd with a smile on her face. Erza made it to her seat and set down, she watched Cana as she waved happily at the cheering crowd before turning to look at her. She smiled at her and extended her hand towards the amazon princess.

"Good luck Erza. Hope your champion proves a challenge against mine." Cana said in a confident yet friendly voice as Erza narrows her eyes at her but shakes her hand nonetheless.

"You too. Hope he doesn't lose too quickly. Would be a boring show if he did." Erza said moving her hand back and focusing on the arena in front of her. Cana only looked at her with a confident smile and slightly narrowed eyes.

"_Hmm... Erza Belserion... You indeed brought up a good competition. But I`m afraid that this is where your`s..."_

Her gaze then moved towards Natsu, who has come out from his side of the arena door and was walking towards the center. The crowd cheering his name all the way as he did some poses to make them cheer louder.

"_And your champion`s journey ends."_

Above them, the kind and his son were watching as well. They're own little conversation going on with Jellal smiling at Natsu`s excitement for his last match.

"You seem happier than before Jellal... Any reason?" He heard his father ask as he only shook his head to answer him.

"No, not really." Gabriel looked at his son with a raised eyebrow but seeing that his son will not give him any form of explanation. Decided to change the topic of their talk.

"So are you excited to finally see who will be your lovely wife?" Jellal`s face fell a little bit at his father`s words but chose to hide it with a blank look.

"Yes, father. I am." In truth. He wanted to marry some he falls naturally in love with but he couldn`t go against his father`s word so he didn`t have a choice in that matter.

He only hoped that whoever his wife will be, will tolerate him and fall in love with him for who he is.

"Good... Any preference?" Gabriel asked looking down at him. Jellal looked over at the two princesses sitting on the balcony below them. Both of them were beautiful in his eyes but if he had to admit. Cana was more carefree and fun-loving than Erza as she was too serious all the time. So if he had to take a side, he would pick Cana.

"I won`t take any. We shall see how the match will play out and let fate guide me to my future wife." Jellal said in a wise tone as his father nodded in agreement and turned his gaze back to the arena.

**In the arena:**

Natsu was excitedly waiting for his opponent in the middle of the arena. He wore a shit-eating grin on his face as he waved once more towards the cheering crowd. "_Man I will sure miss this."_

He then saw the door`s opposite of him open, meaning that his opponent is about to make his appearance. He focused himself so much on the door that he did not notice that the crowd has become dead silent. Erza did however and it made her wonder why. Her gaze fell on the door from which a man who appeared to look in his forties stepped out in the open.

He wore a simple pair of dark blue pants, a dark cloak with shoulder guards, and a pair of gray boots. He wore no shirt making everyone gaze upon his muscular chest and abs. The man had orange shoulder-length hair as well as a stubble beard. He walked slowly out into the arena which was still peach silent. He also was missing his left arm which was replaced by a prosthetic

"_Who is this guy?"_ Natsu thought while looking at the man with caution. When the man was just about 10 feet away from him, he stopped and started to scratch his nose as if there was something bothering him about it.

"Ah... Ah..."

Natsu give him a confused look and was about to say something when all of a sudden.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

He was blasted away by the most powerful force of air he has ever felt. The air from the sneeze was so powerful it hit the sides of the arena making it rush over the stands and balconies of royalty. The crowd ducked for cover behind the chairs and guard rails while some guards were trying to stay put as to not be blown away by the wind.

Erza covered her face with her arms in order to block the wind from her face while Cana was simply smiling at the accident display of power. Jellal and his father kept their eyes on the arena, not bothered by the sudden blast of air.

Natsu who was blasted good 20 feet back looked up from his position at the man who was rubbing his nose with his prosthetic arm in both wonder and surprise.

"_Did he really just pushed me away with a SNEEZE?!" _He thought to himself in shock and a little bit of panic as the man in front of him stopped rubbing his nose and chuckled nervously at him.

"Hahaha... Sorry about that kid. Hope I didn`t scare your pant`s off." He said as his dark green eyes locked with Natsu`s onyx ones, a confident smile grazing his face as he took a step forward. "Because now it`s about to get really scary."

**A/N: Here it is. Sorry if it`s short everyone. So this will be a three-part chapter event, meaning that it will take two more chapters to finish this fight. Again guys sorry for not updating sooner I will try to fix up my schedule in order to get some writing done.**

**But this should be fun to write since my favorite character is making his appearance in these three chapters.**

**Thank you for understanding everyone.**

**Follow.**

**Favorite.**

**And review if you liked this and you wanna see more.**

**And as always stay safe guys, wash your hands and I will see you all in the next one.**

**See ya.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Her Champion**

**A/N: I walk into my room with a tired expression on my face "Ugh what a day..." I say while sitting down in my computer chair.**

"**Okay let`s get started." I turn on my computer and see a steam login window pop up. Just as I was about to login.**

**(WHEM!)**

"**AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Something smacks me in the back of my head.**

"**WHO THE FU-..." My words die in my throat when I saw who smacked me. It was my alter ego, Miguel.**

"**WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" I shout out at him**

"**My problem!? What the hell is yooouurr problem?" He said while pointing at me. "Do you know what day it is?"**

"**Umm... September 14?" I answer him**

"**Yes! And now look at this." He shows me his phone and I see that it's my profile page**

"**Okay, it's my profile page. So?" I said not understanding him.**

"**Look at your third story..." I look at it and... I see nothing wrong with it.**

"**Uhh..." I say thinking he was going insane.**

"**OH FOR THE LOVE! LOOK AT THE UPDATE DATE!" He yells at me in frustration. I look at his phone again and finally see what he meant.**

"**Oh... Has it really been that long?" I say while scratching my cheek in thought.**

"**YES, YOU DEEPSHIT! Now turn off your little games and go work on your story." I look at him for a little bit in thought before saying.**

"**Nah... There`s plenty of time for that. Now do me a favor and go away, nerd. Dark souls will not beat itself.**

**(SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!")**

"**OW OW OW OW OW" I cry out as he begins to stomp on me in frustration.**

"**NO YOU DON`T! GO DO SOME WORK FOR THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW YOU`RE SHITTY STORIES YOU ASSHOLE!"**

"**OW! OKAY OW. JUST STOP KICKING ME ALREADY!"**

**Miguel then turns towards you and clears his throat before speaking.**

"**Sorry about that everyone. Tim has just hit a writer's block on this story and thus totally forgot about it until I didn`t give him a good kicking. He is working on this chapter as we speak so because he is busy I will be answering the reviews on his behalf."**

**Miguel pulls a small paper out of his pocket.**

"**The first one we have is from TheBrokenTool and says: "Good fanfic but still a little confused how Natsu has all of a sudden forgotten erza electrocuting him and enslaving him by tricking him.""**

**Sova: "Well he didn`t forget it. He just decided to give her another shot in order to see if she was truly as kind as he thinks she is. Trust me all will become more clear after the tournament is finished. Also, I am glad that you think this fanfic is good."**

"**Next one is from reddevil47: Loved the story a lot more than I thought I would. Something about the way you write Natsu is different from how he is in the show and still the same as well. It's very nice how strong he is as well, while still not being crazy OP.""**

**Miguel: "Thank you for your kind words. And yeah sorry about writing Natsu the way I am. I just don`t have enough fairy tail knowledge to write him properly. Hope you and everyone else don`t mind."**

"**And that is it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful day." Miguel waves at all of you before walking out of my room.**

**I walk over and look straight at every one of you. "Also I do not own anything from Fairy tail. I own only my OC`s and nothing more. Enjoy everyone and pray for my survival."**

**"God motherfucker kicks hard," I said, rubbing my backside as I go back to my chair.**

Chapter 15

Unleash the dragon

Natsu did the kick up off the ground and got back to his feet. He begins to dust himself off from the dust and sand that have landed on him from the other man`s sneeze. Once he was done dusting his pants off, he strengthens himself and looked across at the man who was still rubbing his nose.

"Bless you." He said towards his opponent.

"Thanks." The older man said with a smile.

Natsu did not waste much time after that brief interaction, slowly went down into his fighting stance, and tried not to show his uneasiness from sensing the man`s magic.

"_This magic pressure is insane. It like I`m carrying a mountain on my shoulders, It`s... Frightening."_ Natsu thought before shaking his head in hope to throw away the feeling of fear that was slowly creeping in his mind.

**Up at the balcony: **

Erza was also a little shaken up from Cana`s champion`s sneeze. Though in her travels and tournament battles, she fought many opponents who were no pushovers in terms of magical power. This however was something totally new to her. The man was radiating such an intense amount of magical energy, it felt as if her armor has become havier.

She felt like she was staring at the second version of Natsu at his max power.

"Its frightening isn`t it?" She heard Cana asked from beside her, making her turn her head towards her.

"That amount of power. It's frightening really. I remember the first time I felt it too. My body froze up in fear and I felt like I was being crushed by the gravity it's self." Cana says with a distant look in her eyes. They soon became focused again and look at Erza with a serious look. "You should call for the match to be stopped before Natsu gets seriously hurt. No matter how strong he is, or how much fate you have in him. He stands no chance against Gildarts."

Erza only narrowed her eyes at her competition and turned back to watch Natsu`s fight against a man now known as Gildarts. Cana only shook her head at Erza`s stubbornness, knowing that this match will not take long to end.

**On the second balcony above them:**

Jellal and Gabriel were looking at the two champions with interest, wanting to see how two powerful magic users will square off. Jellal however looked more worried than excited.

"Something wrong son?" Gabriel asked noticing the worried expression on his face.

"Nothing to worry about father." Jellal laid to the king. Gabriel knew his son was lying but choose not to push the subject any further. His eyes locked back to the arena and raised his hand in the air, ready to signal the start of the last match.

**In the arena:**

"Are you ready?" The king asked to which both competitors nodded. Nothing but silence followed for a few seconds before Gabriel didn`t lower his hand down in a chopping motion.

"Begin!"

"_WOOSH!"_ Natsu started by throwing a fireball at Guildarts, to which the older man simply swatted it away with the back of his hand. Erasing it from existence.

Natsu was shocked at how the older man stopped his attack so easily but quickly continued his onslaught with a few more fireballs. They too meet the same fate as the first one. Frustrated at how easily the man was getting rid of his attacks, Natsu charged at him with his fist pulled back.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S IRON FIST!**" Natsu shouted as he sent a flaming fist towards the man`s face. However, it was simply caught by the other man`s own hand creating a shock wave through the arena from the amount of strength Natsu used in that punch as the man`s grip tighten around his fists

"_Crush!" _the sound was caught by Natsu`s ears as he watched in surprise as the flames around his fist were gone the moment the word was said.

"Hehe. Surprised kid? I don`t blame ya, not many can say that they WOW!" He stopped speaking in order to doge a fast kick from Natsu, letting go of his fist in the process. Natsu did not let up and continued his attack, kicks and punches were thrown at Gildarts all of which he easily dodged.

"_Damn it why can`t I hit him?" _Natsu thought in frustration as he continued his assault. Finally, he tried tied to surprise his opponent by using his sword horn attack but was caught in mid-air by his head. The flames surrounding his body faded just like the flames around his fist.

Gildarts smirked when Natsu tried to power out of his grip but couldn`t, Gildarts pulled his own fist back before saying.

"My turn."

After that Natsu found himself flying back with a large amount of pain coming from his left cheek. He flew for a few seconds before landing on the ground at which he continued to roll on until he finally didn`t come to a stop.

Gildarts was surprised at how far the boy went flying. He was honestly expecting for him to just drop down on the floor knocked out, just like all of his other opponents not for him to be sent like a ragdoll across the arena.

"_Did I overdo it?" _He thought in a nervous tone while looking at the unmoving body of Natsu. However, he was surprised to see Natsu moving his arms slowly and started to use them in support to get back up. A smirk slowly spread across his lips as he waited for Natsu to get back up.

"_Ow... Damn, he hits hard!" _Natsu thought while moving his lower jaw from side to side, trying to ease up the pain. He slowly got back up onto his feet but was not prepared for a spiking pain that came from his midsection.

It was so sudden and painful that knocked the wind out of him and made him vomit spit out of his mouth. He found himself once again on his hands and knees coughing the rest of the vomit and spit out of his mouth as he tried to get some air back in his lungs.

Gildarts who had kneed Natsu in the gut. Stood over him as he watched the boy puke his launch with a disgusted and troubled look. He thought that since the kid is tough enough to withstand a punch from him, the knee to the gut would do him in but he did not think that the kid would stay consciousness much less puke his guts out.

"_God. He is making this difficult. Cana will chew my head off before I am able to knock this kid out. But even so, he has spirit I will give him that." _Gildarts thought while looking at pained Natsu with an impressed look. This tournament has been a cakewalk for him, all he had to do was strike once and his opponent was out like a light. The fact that someone as young as Natsu was putting up a better fight than any of his other opponents truly impressed Cana`s champion.

Speaking of Cana she was looking at her champion with a glare. Something that she usually does when she is displeased with him. Though she has not been worried about Gildarts since she knew what he was capable of, she was worried about his opponents most of the time. She knew that Gildarts could very well erase someone from the very existence if he so pleases to, which is why she told him to finish the fights as fast as possible. She wanted to avoid someone getting hurt too badly.

But Natsu has really surprised her. She did not expect anyone to be able to take a hit from Gildarts and get up afterward. He really was impressive.

"_What is that fool doing!" _She thought while looking at Gildarts."_I thought I told him to end this quickly not to abuse the poor guy." _She turned her attention to the downed pink-haired boy. Hoping that he will not be stubborn and stay down.

Erza on the other hand was trying her best to hide the worry she was feeling. She was clutching the left arm rester with her left hand while the right holds on tightly to Natsu`s scarf that was wrapped around her neck. She thought that this would be easy for Natsu because of his legendary magic but seeing how Gildarts was easily dodging his attacks, made her feel uneasy.

It got worst when Natsu was ragdolled to the other side of the arena from one punch and her true feelings were nearly revealed when Gildarts kneed him so hard that he puked his breakfast out. She was

Though she had know Natsu for only seven days. She knew that just like her, he was a fighter above anything else. He will fight until his very last breath, till his bones are broken and his muscles are shattered beyond belief. Even then he would continue to fight until the last of his being is nothing more the dust.

"_Natsu..." _She clutched the scarf harder as Natsu begins to slowly rise up.

Above them, Jellal had the same worried look as Erza. He knew how powerful Gildarts was but he was hoping that Natsu would at least stand a chance against him. The two strikes Natsu took were hard-hitting and very impactful. But his hope was still there and he knew Natsu was not going to go down easily.

"Jezz kid. You are way tougher then I thought. I didn`t think that anyone will make me sweat as much as you did. So how about we-" before he could finish Natsu quickly lifted his head up and fired a beam of fire at him from his mouth.

"Gah!" He yelped in surprise as he dodged to the right. He was not prepared for a knee strike to his chin from Natsu who took the advantage of Gildart's surprised state. He saw another chance for an attack and he took it by spinning around and driving his left elbow into the older man`s cheek.

The force of the attack made Gildarts take two steps back as he held his face in pain. Natsu however was not about to let him nurse his pain away and charged again with his fist aflame.

The crowd seemed to be brought to life as the (in their minds) underdog of the finals has managed to be the first man to hurt Gildarts since the tournament started. Some even started to clap at his achievement.

Cana was the most shocked about this turn of events. Never in her life did she thought that someone like Gildarts would get hit, much less twice. This boy was truly something else.

Erza and Jellal had small smiles of relief on their faces. They knew that Natsu was not going to be taken down that easily, that he will find a way to make the older man let his guard down. He just needed to wait for the opportunity to show itself and when it did, he took it.

Natsu jumped in the air after gaining his momentum from running and pulled his fist back for a big meaty attack.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S-"** He was interrupted when he was literally grabbed in mid-air by his dragon collar and left dangling off the ground. Gildarts who had recovered from the surprise attacks stared at Natsu with a glare, the right hand that was holding onto Natsu`s collar tighten its grip on it.

The crowd went silent again as they saw the face Gildarts was making. Some even gulped down the imaginary lump that formed in their throats. However, Cana`s eyes opened wide in disbelief and shock at the look that Gildarts was giving Natsu.

"Oh shit." She says in a low voice after everyone quiets down but Erza was still able to hear her. She looked at Cana with a confused look.

"What?" She asked not liking how pale Cana has suddenly become.

Cana slowly turned to look at Erza. Her face showed dread, worry, and shock as she told her a simple. "Your boy fucked up." A moment later they heard the sound of something hitting the floor hard as their attention went back to the arena, where Gildarts started to slam Natsu from one side to another while still holding him by his neck collar.

"GAHHHHHHH!" They heard Natsu grunt out in pain every time his back made contact with the ground. Erza`s worry returned full force as she felt pain in her chest that increased every time Natsu got slammed. Before long she had a hand over her chest and her eyes were beginning to water as Gildarts continued to punish her champion.

"_Stop it... please..." _She begged the pain in her chest to stop as it was begging to because unbearable.

Cana however was furious. She did not want this. All she wanted was for Gildarts to win this quickly not trying to cripple his opponent. She was about to yell out to him but then she saw Gildarts released and sent him flying across the field again with Natsu coming to a stop 20 feet away. She saw that Natsu was badly hurt after that, his body twitched in pain as he laid on the ground.

"_Well... Hopefully, he will stay down after that." _Cana thought while looking at the beat-up man. Her attention was quickly turned on her champion. She glared at his back which must have been felt by him since he shivered where he stood. Oh, she was going to have a long talk with him.

"Ahh!" A sudden yelp in pain surprised her as it came from right next to her. She looked over to her right and saw Erza holding her right shoulder in pain as a red glow was shining from within her right shoulder guard.

She quickly ripped it off and saw her red dragon stomp glowing red before it slowly vanished. Erza`s opened wide, she holds her breath as she slowly turns her head to look at Gildarts. When it turned fully she saw him staring down at his hand in confusion, like he was holding something he did not recognize. She was so caught up in her shock that she bearly heard Cana ask.

"Hey! Do you hear me? What the hell was that?" She asked while shaking Erza`s left shoulder at which the amazon princess did not even turn to her.

"You are about to find out." She said as her eyes were glued onto something. Cana followed her gaze that leads to Natsu who was still laying on the ground. Her eyes narrowed in confusion but soon widen as magical pressure in the air was starting to grow... at an intense pace.

And it was not coming from Gildarts.

**Back at the arena:**

_"Ahh... Damn it... My back..." _Natsu ground as he slowly moved his arms to help him get up. His vision was foggy and his back and shoulder blades hurt like hell as he tried to fight through the pain and slowly begin to rise. He felt sand roll off his cloughs as his struggle to continued and then he felt something metallic roll off his neck before landing down on the sandy floor.

"_What the hell just_ happened?" He shook his head to clear his vision and looked down at the sand. He then saw something that made his heart skip a beat. It was that damn dragon collar that stopped him from using his full power, it laid down beneath him and it looked like it was broken in pieces. Like someone ripped it with their bare hands. He then slowly raised his hand to look at Guildarts who was still looking at his hand in confusion.

Slowly the gears inside Natsu`s head started turning and a sweet evil grin spread across his lips as he started to slowly rise back to his feet.

Gildarts was looking at the other piece of the dragon collar that he ripped from Natsu with his magic. He then closed his hand around it, erasing it from existence as his gaze turned back to Natsu who had gotten back to his feet. His eyes were covered by his pink hair and he had a smirk on his face which confused Gildarts even more than he already was.

"Yo kid! What`s with the loo-" His words left him as he begins to feel the heat in the air that started to make him sweat. Though it was a sunny day, he knew that it couldn`t be that hot outside for him to feel this hot. He wasn`t the only one as people in the crowd were beginning to sweat as well, same with the king and the prince who both knew that the heat was not coming from the sun.

Soon Natsu raised his head and reviled his onyx eyes that shined in excitement and evil happiness. His smirk became his signature toothy grin as flames started to dance around his body slowly. Gildarts took a step back and raised his arm in the hope to prevent the heat from coming to him. He felt the pressure in the air build as the flames around Natsu became faster and more vicious.

"Hey! What the hell are you-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" With a mighty roar, Natsu`s flames exploded around his body creating a giant aura that brighten the whole colosseum around him. People in the first rows jumped back when they saw the fire expand past the barricade and made them turn back with hard sweat pouring down their bodies.

Jellal and Gabriel were stunned in place by the sudden explosion of power from Natsu. The pressure of magical power pinned them down from the sheer gravity and heat that the flames were releasing. They set there speechless as the marveled at the sudden power display.

"_What... What is this?" _Cana thought as her body shook in fair and intimidation. She has not felt like this since the first time she had meet Gildarts, the sheer weight of it and heat made her mind dizzy as sweat poured down her body.

Erza was no different. She had completely forgotten how heavy and thick Natsu`s power felt at its fullest potential. She gripped the scarf around her neck with newfound nervousness but at the same time, with newfound hope.

Gildarts gritted his teeth as flames passed him. He tried to use his crash magic on them but was surprised at how little it did against them. It was like they were eating at it magic, he looked over at the younger man with a surprised gaze at which Natsu`s grin only widened.

"Hey old man." Natsu said in a confidant tone of voice."Hope you`re ready."

He then slammed his fists together which caused the flames around him to grow more violent and burn brighter.

"Cuz I`m all fired up."

**A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Follow**

**Favorite**

**Review**

**And as always stay safe everyone.**

**See ya.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Her Champion**

**A/N: Well boys and girls. This is it. The final chapter of the tournament. Finally! And I do mean it with a big relief. Because after this chapter, we`re pretty much reaching this stories end from here. So with that being said, I am going to fully focus on finishing this story. **

**This means that all of my other stories will not be updated until this one is finished. But I will update one more chapter for "Santoryu" and for "The Theif". The reason behind this is because I really wish to finish this story before the New Year. So I can move on to the other projects I have planned to do.**

**I hope you guys don`t mind.**

**So yeah let`s go to the reviews now.**

**(I pull out the list.)**

**Monkey D Rodriguez: "Love this."**

**Me: "Thank you. Love you too."**

**MDRI: "This chapter was just a dickhead move man come on."**

**Me: "You are absolutly right. I am such a dickhead."**

**reddevil47: "Sweet mother of Mary we got a fight! Also I did say Your Natsu was different but that did not mean I did not like him. I adore the way Natsu is written and I hope you keep him the way you have been! Can`t wait for another chapter!"**

**Me: "Thank you for your kind words. They really mean a lot to me."**

**Grannster10: "I am loving the story your writing is also getting noticeably better each chapter."**

**Me: "Really? I think it`s getting worse. (Chuckles) But thank you! I`m glad you`re enjoying the story."**

**And that is it. Thank you all for the support and I will see you guys at the end. Also, I do not own anything from Fairy Tail, just my OC`s.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 17.

The Final Battle and the aftermath.

The flames continued to dance around Natsu`s body. His signature grin planted firmly on his face as he stared down at his opponent. The heat coming from his body made the people in the stands behind him start to sweat. Even the four royalties who were above him were sweating.

Natsu for his part only rolled his shoulders back and move his head from side to side. Enjoying the freedom his neck finally had, after a long week of not being able to move freely because of that stupid collar. The satisfying cracks he heard coming from those areas made Natsu let out a sigh of relief.

His eyes never left his opponent who has taken off his cloak and tossed it to the side. He saw Gildarts smirk before he didn`t let out a small laugh from his lips.

"Well Well... You are full of surprises aren`t ya?" Gildarts said while moving a bit of his hair out of his face which was sweating. "All this time you were holding back on me ha?"

Natsu`s smirk only widens and his eyes narrowed more. "It`s not like I had any choice for that matter." He then slammed his right fist into the palm of his hand causing a spark of flames to burst from the impact. "But it does not matter anymore. For now, you are facing my real power."

As Natsu finished the flames around him increased their motion. The arena grew deadly silent as some even swallowed an imaginary limp in their throat. Meanwhile on the balcony. The two princesses did not say a word but you could tell that they were both were worried about what will happen to their champion`s. Erza more so than Cana for she did not know what Natsu will do now that he is no longer handicapped.

The king and the prince above them were both looking down at the two fighters with wonder and excitement. They were excited to see what will come next in this fight.

The two combatants just stood there eyeing each other down before Natsu didn`t vanish from his spot. The trail of flames being the only thing left behind. Gildarts eyes widen in surprise before he was hit on his left cheek by a flaming fist.

He took a step back, nursing his now hurt cheek while looking back at the spot where he was just a moment ago before he was not punched again on his other one.

"_What the hell! When did the kid get so fast!?" _He thought before he was hit hard in the back. "GAHH!"

Gildarts fell down to one knee with his hand on his lower back trying to ease the spreading pain that was coming from there. He was starting to get annoyed by the brats, hit, and run tactic. He was about to get up but another source of pain came to him in a form of another knee to his chin. Which sent him rolling two feet away from where he was kneeling. When he stopped he was face down in the sand with the throbbing pain in his jaw.

"_Ahhh... That hurt like a bitch!" _Guildarts thought while rubbing his jawline. He felt the heat coming from above him forcing him to look up at the cause of his annoyance. Natsu who isn`t on fire anymore has stopped right in front of his prone form and was looking down at him with a toothy grin.

"Yo old man! How`s the sand taste like?" He said in a mocking voice which made Gildarts glare up at him in annoyance. Mostly because he called him old.

"Hahaha. I did warn you, didn`t I." Natsu said as the flames surrounded his body again, making the older man jump away from him. Not wanting to get burned. "I am all fired up"

Gildarts only huffed in response. His eyes became more focused as his magical power begin to rise. "Yeah... You sure did kid." His magical power rising, challenging Natsu`s which responded in kind.

**Upon the balcony:**

Both Erza and Cana felt the pressure of magical power coming from their champion`s, making them both more nervous than they were before. The grips on their respective chairs tighten as they could not move their eyes away from the two powerhouses inside the arena.

"_Oh boy... He is getting serious... Well, it's been nice knowing ya kid. But now you are most certainly will not survive this fight."_ Cana thought as she sees Gildarts glare at Natsu. Even though he was the only one who had managed to hit Gildarts more than once which is a really impressive feat to do. But she knew that look that Gildarts had on his face right now and the last person he gave that look to. Well... Let`s just say that that man no longer exists.

Erza however was shaking nervously. Her teeth clutched tightly against each other as her grip was breaking the poor armrest of her chair. She could feel both of their magic going through the roof as the two got ready to engage in a powerful melee. Her worry clearly present on her face as she hopped for Natsu to triumph over his opponent.

"_Come on Natsu... Beat him..."_ She thought as her left hand clutched the scale scarf around her neck in a show of support to her champion.

The king and the prince calmly waited for the fight to continue.

...

...

...

Nobody made a sound until.

_BOOM!_

The two fighters disappeared in a blink of an eye and were now in the middle with their fists clashed against each other. A huge shock wave was released from where the fists met, causing the crowd to try and duck away from the wind pressure.

They then disappeared again only to cause the same thing when their knees connected with each other. They went on like that for six minutes. Blow after blow was thrown as the two powerful wizards traded with each other.

"UFF!"

"GAH!"

"AHH!"

"GRH!"

Were heard whenever one managed to get a hit on the other, bruises and burn marks were given with every powerful hit that made contact with each body. Soon the two fighters were once again in the center of the arena, both breathing panting with their fair share of bruises. As well as some burn marks for Gildarts. However, both had competitive grins on their faces, seemingly enjoying the battle they were weighing.

The fans who were before hiding were now standing up and cheering "more", clearly enjoying the action in front of them.

"Gatta say, kid. You`re a really impressive brat. What was your name again... Natsu?" Gildarts asked as he crouched down and got ready for their next exchange.

"Yeah. And yours is Gildarts right?" Natsu received a nod as an answer. "Your really good as well."

The two stood there for a few seconds before they did not disappear in another flurry of blows. Only this time they were hitting a little bit harder.

"**FIRE DRAGON`S IRON FIST!**"

"**CRUSH!**"

"**FIRE DRAGON`S FLAME ELBOW!**"

"**CRUSHING EVIL, Spreading the truth: EMPYREAN!"**

Attack after an attack, counter after counter. The two went back and forth earning more injuries as their dance of power continued. All the while everyone stared in awe and shock at the epic battle between titans.

"AHHH/HAAA" The two shouted when each of their fists made contact with the other man`s cheek, sending them both flying back away from each other. They both did a rollback in order to use the momentum to launch themselves back onto their feet.

"Okay, kid fun time`s over. It's time to finish this." Gildarts said as his body begins to glow in a white aura. Preparing his power full attack.

"Couldn`t agree more old man," Natsu said with his flames once again bursting around him as his own magical power started to rise.

Gildarts pulled his right hand back as his magic started to form in the palm of his hand. While Natsu took a big take of air into his lungs.

"**All...**"

"**FIRE DRAGON`S..."**

Both released their attacks at the same time towards each other in the form of energy blasts.

"**CRASH!**"

"**ROAR!**"

Both beams connected and sent a giant wave of air around them when they impacted against each other. The audience in the stands had to take cover again while up on the balconies covered their eyes from the bright light that came from the arena. The two entered another power struggle, trying to push the other`s beams away from the other.

"I will not lose kid! You better give up!" Gildarts shouted over the sound of power waves as he pours more power into his blast, allowing it to push itself closer to Natsu.

Natsu saw this and started to struggle to push it back. It was starting to look like Natsu will lose, which made Gildarts grin. But at that moment.

"**_DRAGON_..._FORCE_!**" Natsu shouted out in his mind and soon after his appearance started to change. Red scales grew on his body as claws grew out of his hands and his eyes pupils became slit.

"_WHAT THE!?_" Gildarts begin to think in shock and surprise at Natsu`s new look. But was cut off by a sudden burst of power from the dragon slayer which forced the collied beams away from him and back towards Gildarts. He quickly tried to overpower him but it was too late. The flames ate out his crash magic and hit him head-on. Sending him flying into a wall.

Dust and dirt flew in the air after the struggle was over and Natsu turned off his Dragon force. Up in the stands, people were silent and watched in awe as they wondered if the fight was over.

Cana had a look of shock on her face. She just watched the most powerful man in her kingdom get overpowered and sent flying into a wall. Her eyes were shaky as they watched the dust cloud that blocked her champion from sight, her core shook with worry for him.

"_Yes, Natsu... You finally got a full hit on him." _ Erza thought to herself with a smile on her face. Happy for Natsu to finally get a solid hit on Guildarts. "_But even if so... Is that enough for him to stay down."_ She wondered while looking at the cloud of dust that Gildarts was in.

Natsu kept his eyes on the same spot as well. Looking for any sign of movement inside of the cloud, he was prepared for anything that man was going to throw at him. Soon enough the dust cleared away and he saw Gildarts sitting against the wall he crashed into. He saw Gildarts slowly get back to his feet holding the back of his head, he had no burn mark on his chest area. Which made Natsu assume he used his magic in a last-second to save himself from suffering any critical injuries.

"Phew... That was a close one." Gildarts said while rubbing the back of his head. Natsu narrowed his eyes again in frustration that his attack was negated so easily by the older man. Erza shared his frustration as she literally broke one of the arms off her chair.

"Hmph. You`re no joke." Natsu said in a complimenting way

"Thanks, kid. You`re not too bad yourself." Gildarts said as he walked back towards the middle and stood in front of Natsu. "But I am interested tho. Why does a kid with so much magical power serving under a princess?"

"That is none of your concern," Natsu said while getting down in his fighting stance. Gildarts however just stood there analyzing him. He saw the frustrated and annoyed look on Natsu`s face, but beyond that, he saw a hopeful feeling deep within his eyes. A look that told Gildarts of unknow promise between the boy in front of him and his princess. His eyes shifted up to Erza and studied her.

He saw the same look of frustration on her face, but he also saw a great deal of worry for the young dragon slayer. A type of worry that only loved ones share between one another. A warm smile spread across his lips in understanding as he made his decision. He raised his hand in the air and with no shame said.

"I give up."

...

...

...

"WHAT!/WHAT!/WHAT!" Natsu, Cana, and the crowd shouted out in shock at Gildart's words. Erza and the two royalties had their eyes wide opened in shock as well, clearly, no one expected this.

"You heard me. I quit." Guildarts said while putting his hands in his pockets and walking over to pick up his coat. "I am tired of fighting and I am in need of a drink right now. So I guess..." Once he picked up his coat he walked back to Natsu and extended his hand out for a handshake.

"Congrats kid. You are the winner." He said with a smile on his face.

Natsu however only looked at the offered hand in shock. This was not how he wanted to win. He wanted the final fight to be exciting, hard, grueling, and exciting. This fight was one of the rare fights that got his blood pumping and he was ready to fight it out to the end. And then this guy just goes ahead and decides to quit?

He growled out in anger and slapped the offered hand away. "Fuck that! I do not want to win like this! Stop being stupid and fight me, old man!"

Gildarts got a thick mark on his forehead before shouting. "STOP CALLING ME OLD YOU BRAT! I am only in my thirties! Besides I am doing you a favor here."

This got Natsu to calm down and look up at him with a raised eyebrow.

Gildarts then leaned down and whispered into his ear. "Look, kid. I realize how much this means to your little princess up there and I know that this means a lot to you too. Now I don`t know what she has done in order to have you fight for her but I know one thing. She cares about you. And I am being a good guy and I am making sure that the new generation grows."

Natsu got even more confused. But Gildarts only winked at him with a smirk on his face before turning around begin to leave. "You will thank me later kid! Plus if you really want to finish this. Then come and find me one day in my guild. It`s on the south side of Fiore. In a small town called Magnolia."

Natsu just blinked twice in confusion at the retreating man`s back as the crowd begins to shout curses at Guildarts for quitting like a coward. Which the said man ignored while picking his right ear with his pinky.

Upon the balcony, Erza was still surprised and shocked at what just happened. She was literally frozen in her spot from the sheer ridiculousness that has just occurred. Her frozen posture was however ruined by a feeling of anger and deep hatred coming from beside her. She looked to her side and saw Cana literally shaking with rage, the look on her face could certainly match her own when she is angry.

"That bastard... He thinks this was all a game huh..." She heard Cana whisper under her breath as the said princess stood up from her seat. She turns over to her and gives her a fake happy smile. "Congratulations Erza. I hope you and the prince will be happy together. Now if you`ll excuse me, I have an idiot to kill." and with that Cana left the balcony. Erza sweatdrop as she watched her walk away.

Her attention was soon turned back to the arena where Natsu had his fists raised up in the air while the crowd was cheering his name. A huge grin was planted on his face as he basked in his glory. Erza smiled once again at him and begin to clap her hands in applause. "_Well done little dragon... Well done."_

The king and Jellal were both clapping as well. A smile on both of their faces as they watched Natsu celebrate.

"Well, son. Looks like you have your bride." Gabriel said while looking at his son. Jellal looked down at the other balcony where Erza was now standing on and saw her clapping at Natsu with a smile on her face. She had a true genuine happy look on her face, a look that he had not seen from Alvarez`s amazon ever since meeting her. It made it clear to him, what she was feeling towards her champion. And he was going to take that away from her...

"Yeah... I guess I do..." Jellal replied sadly, something his father noticed really quickly. But he didn`t say anything, only gave his son a "we will talk later look" and a comforting hand on his shoulder.

**20 minutes later:**

"You have two cracked ribs and a bruised knee Mr. Dragneel. It`s nothing serious tho, just get some rest and you will be fine." The doctor told Natsu as he finished wrapping the bandages around his rib area, making sure that they are tightly wrapped but not uncomfortable. They were in the med bey where the doctor was treating Natsu`s injuries. Natsu was currently sitting on one of the beds with his vest off.

"Will do. Thanks, doc." Natsu told the doctor with a grin on his face. The doctor nodded his head with a smile before leaving the room. When he left Erza came through them, her head held high and it looked as if there was a slight spring in her step.

"Hey." He greeted her with a smile.

"Hey." She greeted back with her own small smile. As she came to stop in front of him. "How are you feeling?"

"Meh. Just some cracked ribs and a little pain in the knee. I will be fine after some rest." He told her

"I am glad to hear that," Erza said to him while taking a seat beside him. This surprised Natsu since she had never set anywhere near him before, but here she was sitting next to him. He looked into her eyes and he saw gratitude, relief, and... happiness?

"Um, princess are you-GAH!" He was interrupted by Erza throwing herself at him which caused him to fall back onto the bed with her on top of him. He was surprised by this sudden action and looked down at the Alvarez princess. She had her left cheek rested in the middle of his exposed chest and her arms wrapped themselves around his midsection. Being mindful of his injured ribs.

"P-princess... What are you-"

"Erza."

"..." He didn`t say anything as Erza looks up from his chest and stares into his onyx eyes.

"Call me Erza," she said softly while tightening her hug. Natsu watched her for a few seconds before a smile formed on his face and he hugged her back.

"He... When did you get all emotional?" He said teasingly

"Shut up." She said as she let him go and got off him. Allowing him to sit back up while she stood back onto his feet. "You did really well. Though the ending was not what I have expected."

"I know. God, I wanted to fight him some more." Natsu said in an annoyed voice.

"But that no longer matters. You have done what you promised me. And for that..." She paused before a truly genuine smile spread across her lips as she uttered the words.

"Thank you..."

Natsu`s eyes widen not because of her words. But because of the smile, she was giving him. He knew that she will look beautiful with her real smile but he did not expect it to make her look like a goddess. His cheeks turned the color of her hair as his own smile grow across his face.

"Ah see. There it is. I told you I was going to make you smile." He said while pointing up at her. Erza however narrowed her eyes but did not lose her smile.

"Yes. I guess you did." She said while crossing her arm.

"So now that my part is over and the collar is broken so you can`t really force me to do anything for you." As he mentioned that. Erza adopted a regretful look on her face which Natsu immediately took notice of. "Hey, it's cool. I will forgive you for all those times you shocked me."

At hearing that Erza`s expression brighten as she did not want him to be angry at her for what she had done.

"If you tell me where I can find my dad." He said with a smirk. expecting her to answer him.

But for Erza. Her whole world suddenly stopped moving, the temperature of the room seemed to drop to a chilling degree. Her smile was lost from her face as she stared into those hopeful onyx orbs, that were filled if expectation and excitement. The pain shot through her chest as she finds herself struggling to breathe. Her fists clutched tightly as she tried to block away from the spreading pain of regret at what she said next.

"Natsu..." She started to say in a low pained voice. Which made Natsu drop his smile and look at her in confusion.

"I lied..."

Her eyes became tearful.

**A/N: And that is the end of the tournament. Now I am terribly sorry for rushing this fight and butchering everything but I really wanted to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I didn`t have any idea about what I wanted to write for this chapter, so I just said fuck it and went with whatever came out of my head. So I`m sorry, the last few chapters will be better than this one I promise. I am really sorry about this and I hope that you can forgive me.**

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